Economy
Castlebar is traditionally a market town, and it is still a major destination for shoppers from all over the west of Ireland. It boasts an increasing number of national and international chain stores, and several new shopping areas have been developed in the past 10–12 years on what were considered the outskirts of the town. The modern shopping precinct along Hopkins Road is now the commercial heart of the town, surpassing Main Street. Stores include Argos, Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Next, Lidl, Supervalu, Boots, New Look, Shaws, Heatons, Elverys and Homebase, as well as smaller names such as McLoughlins Bookshop, Irwin Interiors and Liam Cannons Fruit & Veg.
In January 2012 it was confirmed that Castlebar is the second largest retail centre in Connacht, after Galway city. It comes in ahead of Sligo. A survey by consultants Experian showed that €284 million is spent in by shoppers in Castlebar every year. The Irish Retail Centre Rankings show Castlebar is the 7th largest retail centre in Ireland (1 up from the previous survey) in terms of retail spend, and 12th on the island of Ireland
Major renovations have taken place on Main Street, Linen Hall Street and Castle Street in recent months. This has resulted in a more pedestrian friendly environment with attractive features.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The aim of the laborer should be, not to get his living, to get “a good job,” but to perform well a certain work; and, even in a pecuniary sense, it would be economy for a town to pay its laborers so well that they would not feel that they were working for low ends, as for a livelihood merely, but for scientific, or even moral ends. Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Everyone is always in favour of general economy and particular expenditure.”
—Anthony, Sir Eden (1897–1977)