Area Code 9490 – Castlebar

Overview of Area Code 9490 (Castlebar, Ireland)

Area code 9490 is a geographic National Destination Code (NDC) within the Irish telephone numbering plan, allocated under the country calling code +353. It serves the town of Castlebar, the county town of County Mayo, located in the western province of Connacht. The code covers Castlebar urban area and its immediate surroundings, including suburbs such as Knockaphunta, Gorteendrunagh, and parts of the wider Castlebar Municipal District.

From an administrative perspective, the 9490 code falls under the jurisdiction of ComReg, the Commission for Communications Regulation, which oversees Ireland's E.164 numbering resources. The code is classified as a geographic number, meaning it is tied to a specific physical exchange area, although modern VoIP and fixed-line services may route calls over IP backbones.

Dialing Formats and Usage

When calling a Castlebar fixed-line number from within Ireland, subscribers must dial the national trunk prefix 0, followed by the area code and the subscriber number. For example, a local Castlebar number might be formatted as:

• National format (within Ireland): 094 90 XXX XX
• International format (from abroad): +353 94 90 XXX XX

Note that the leading 0 is dropped when dialing from outside Ireland. The full national significant number (NSN) consists of the area code (9490) plus a 5-digit subscriber number, yielding a total NSN length of 9 digits (excluding the trunk prefix).

Geographic Coverage and Overlays

The 9490 code is part of the larger 094 area code group, which serves County Mayo and parts of neighbouring counties. Historically, Castlebar used the 094 area code, and the introduction of additional digits (the '9' after 094) created the 9490 prefix to accommodate growing demand. There are no overlay codes in this region; the 9490 prefix is exclusive to the Castlebar exchange area.

For callers from outside Ireland, the international dialing sequence is: International Access Code (e.g., 00 from most countries, or +) followed by 353 (Ireland's country code), then 94 (the geographic area code without the leading 0), and finally the 5-digit local number. For example, to call a Castlebar number from the United States, one would dial: 011 353 94 90 XXX XX.

Practical Considerations

While 9490 numbers are traditionally associated with fixed-line PSTN services, they can also be used by VoIP providers that offer geographic numbers. However, the number's geographic nature means that emergency services (112/999) will route calls based on the registered address, not the number itself. Businesses in Castlebar often use 9490 numbers to establish a local presence, and callers should be aware that calls to these numbers from mobile phones may incur charges depending on their tariff.