The Castlebar Song Contest was an annual international song contest that was first staged in 1966 in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. The contest was initially organised by the Castlebar Chamber of Commerce as part of a drive to increase tourism in the town. It was hoped that the competition would produce a song that would make the town famous, just as songs such as "The Rose of Tralee", "Galway Bay", or "Mary from Dungloe" had done for their respective towns. The first contest had 70 entries from the UK and Ireland, and the final was hosted by Gay Byrne. The winning song bore the Irish version of the town's name, Caisleán A' Bharraigh.
Information After the first contest, the emphasis changed from finding a song named after the town to one of promoting the town through attracting composers, of various genres, from all over the world to the town. This strategy was successful and the town (and some of the neighbouring towns) were thronged with contest participants for the first week of October for the remainder of the contest's life. From humble beginnings with a mere £50 in prizes, the event grew in status to a point where its prize money at £20,000 was bettered only by the Yamaha Song Contest in Japan.
In 1981, the future of the song contest became political when it was debated in Dáil Éireann.
Broadcast In 1970, the contest was recorded for television by RTÉ (the national television station) and transmitted on the following Sunday. The 1971 and 1973 contests were similarly recorded and shown later. However, the 1974 contest was broadcast live from the Old Royal Ballroom and Theatre and Travellers Friend Hotel in Castlebar nationally on RTÉ. Apart from 1987, when there was no contest, the event enjoyed live television coverage from 1974 until the event finished in 1988. James Haldane O'Hare was the TV Designer for RTÉ for the majority of the broadcasts.
Winners + List of winners Year Section Composer Singer(s) Song title Country 1966OverallSheila Fawsitt-StewartDragoons"Caisleán A' Bharraigh" 1967Folk/BalladPeter McKenzieMcLoughlin Folk Group"Where Did They Go"PopVera TraynorButch Moore"No One Else"StraightAndy GalliganJoan Connolly"One and One" 1968Folk/BalladJoe Burkett/Tony HylandCity Folk"Dividing Line"PopEileen CoyleTony Keeling"The World is Ours Today"StraightSean Sharkey/Eddie MastersonPat Lynch & Airchords"Reflections of You" 1969Folk/BalladRuth KiernanTara Folk"Soldier Boy"PopMai O'Higgins/John McBreenGary Street & Fairways"Jodi"StraightPat WalshJoe Doherty & Millionaires"A Country & Western Song" 1970Folk/BalladNoel and Alan ConnaughtonMelody Fayre"Mary I'm Nay Leaving You"PopJohn LaveryGerry & Ohio"One Step Away"StraightSeamus McHugh/John FahyRed Hurley"The World Is Such An Empty Place" 1971Folk/BalladVic DawtonJoe Cuddy"Diana of the Roses"PopMichael MurphyLa Salle"Feeling I've Got It Made"CountryDonal McGrath/K. DoohanIan Corrigan"Slumbering Goldmine"OverallMichael MurphyLa Salle "Feeling I've Got It Made" 1972Folk/BalladSheila RobertsFrank Holder"Song for Jenny"PopDick FarrellyMary Lou"That's What Love Is Made Of"CountryTeresa O'DonnellGerry Cronin"He Travels Fastest"StraightPat CoyleHelen Jordan"Shall I Ride"Overall Sheila RobertsFrank Holder"Song for Jenny" 1973Overall Vince Hill/Ernie DunstallJoe Cuddy"I'm Gonna Make It" 1974Overall Cathal DunneCathal Dunne"Shalom"CountryTibor Koncz/Iván SzenesKati Kovács"Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue" 1975Overall Joe Burkett/Andy GalliganDes Smyth"Roulette" 1976Joint WinnersRay Davies Teresa O'Donnell/Joe BollardTony Steven T. O'Donnell/Joe Bollard"My Woman" "Let's Star All Over" 1977Overall John BrownJohn Brown/Mary Clifford"You are My Destiny" 1978Overall Sarah Byron/Liam HurleySarah Bryan"Onion" 1979Overall Zack Laurence/Paul FergusonKim Goody"Talkin' to a Stone" 1980Overall Ed Welch/Barry MasonLinda Jardim"Don't Stay for the Sake of the Children" 1981 Overall Miki Antony/Robin SmithCarol Kenyon"I Wasn't Born Yesterday" 1982Overall Barry Mason/Don GouldBarry Mason"Big Enough for Me & You" 1983 Overall Shay HealyLinda Martin"Edge of the Universe" 1984Overall Brian O'ReillyBrian O'Reilly"Spread Your Wings" 1985Overall Sten & Stanley "Don't Play A Sad Song After Midnight" 1986Overall Tim Norell & Ola HåkonssonKATZ"Oh, Johnny Dance With Me Tonight" 1988Overall Brendan GrahamLinda Martin"If I Should Ever Lose Your Love"
References
External links Photo collection of Mayo Library