Local Notes: All the latest news from Ballyhaunis
Some of the volunteers involved with the Kilmovee Community First Responder Group.
Work on the conversion of the former Mercy convent school building into Ballyhaunis’ new library building and a community building is set to begin in 2027 after several regulatory hurdles were cleared recently. The project is being completed with a €5.2 million government grant as well as a loan of €500,000 being taken out by Mayo County Council.
“All going well we would hope to have a contractor appointed for the construction element of the project in early quarter one of 2027,” said Bryan Scanlon, executive engineer at Mayo County Council who is overseeing the project.
Mr Scanlon explained that the project has now received Stage 2 Approval in Principle for the Ballyhaunis Library and Community Hub Project subject to conditions from the Libraries Development and Community Support Section of the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht which allowed us to make the Decision Gate 2.2 Pre-Tender submission to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) under the Department.
“We have now received Decision Gate 2.2 Approval, which allows us to proceed to seek tenders,” said Mr Scanlon.
Ballyhaunis Boxing Club is worried about finding a permanent training base as it struggles to find funds to carry out repairs required on its current clubhouse.
Club official Sue Peake said the boxing club has been 21 years in consultation with Mayo County Council about helping to secure a permanent training venue in the town.
Mayo County Council recently informed Ballyhaunis Boxing Club that they are looking at a “brownfield site” in Ballyhaunis town centre for the club “but have only enquired about it at present so [there] is still no security as to where we will be next year,” said Ms Peake.
The club was disappointed that a boxing club wasn’t included as one of the options in a recent survey by the council on the future of the derelict Scouts' Den building in Ballyhaunis which some time ago housed the boxing club. There was much local support for the renovation of the building as a boxing club, said Ms Peake.
“We’ve done everything asked of us, including getting committees and governance in place and we’ve got an accountant,” said Ms Peake who points out the club’s boxers have been successful at national and international level.
Sue’s daughter Carlagh has just recently been accepted onto Boxing Ireland’s Olympic pathway programme.
“She travels to Dublin several times a month to train alongside the Olympian boxers like Kellie Harrington and the O’Rourke sisters but the majority of her training has to be in Ballyhaunis,” explained Sue.
The club is currently operating out of the Bekan Community Centre, but its roof was badly damaged during Storm Éowyn in January 2025, which also left the boxing club without power for two weeks.
“We are in a commercial lease and so we don’t have the funds to fix it," Ms Peake explained.
The Dome is back big time” said John Prenty, secretary of Connacht GAA, who says the facility has been “very, very busy” since it was re-installed in Bekan earlier this year.
“We had 700 kids from Galway schools last weekend and we have 90 kids using the Dome tonight,” Mr Prenty explained to the .
The facility, which remains unique in the country, has brought welcome passing trade to retailers and restaurants in Ballyhaunis.
Mr Prenty said his management team plans to “tidy up the car parks” near the road to expand the capacity. While he does hope to test the concert market, there remains a “fair bit of thinking” to be done in regard to how this would be done.
While the structure is very similar to the Dome that was blown down in Storm Éoywn, in this iteration of the Dome the lighting is on the ground. Also, the structure can be deflated very quickly.
The Centre of Excellence has become a popular destination for walkers and the woodland paths have been very popular with locals, many of whom go to the Centre of Excellence to walk after dropping their kids at school, Mr Prenty said.
Excitement is building ahead of the upcoming visit of the Sam Maguire cup to Aghamore GAA Club on Saturday, October 3rd from 1pm to 4pm.
The Cup will be accompanied by Fergal Boland, Dessie Campbell and members of the Mayo team and management. Live entertainment will be led by the Pipers Cross Céilí Band, joined by some surprise guests.
Onsite refreshments will include a coffee truck and an ice-cream van, while additional refreshments will be available upstairs. Accessibility measures will be available for those who need support. All members, supporters, families and the wider community are warmly welcome to attend.
Gorthaganny and Tooreen have teamed up for a cross-border event to highlight the potential of energy savings in local buildings. A joint launch of an Energy Master Plan for both communities will take place in the Gorthaganny Community Centre on October 7th at 7pm.
Ten houses and four businesses in Gorthaganny are entitled to a free energy audit and BER [Building Energy Rating] rating after a Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) was established in the village with the support of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). An SEC has also been established in Tooreen.
Homeowners and businesses in both villages have also completed a home energy survey and BER survey organised by the local SEC. Once the survey is completed the participants will be presented with options to improve energy savings in their home or business. Substantial grants are being offered by the SEAI for actions in homes and businesses that reduce energy use and carbon emissions as Ireland strives to meet its emission reduction targets.
Organisers stress there will be no obligation on home and business owners to complete works proposed under energy audits. Participants will receive advice from the Sustainable Energy Community engineer on how to reduce energy use and heat loss in their buildings. Homeowners can avail of grants of up to €2,000 for attic insulation with €8,000 grants available for wall insulation. There’s a grant of €1,800 to install solar panels and up to €2,500 in grant aid for heat pumps.
Suppliers of energy saving products and services like external insulation and solar panels will be in attendance at the event on October 7th. The main presenter for the evening will be Eve Hughes, community energy engineer, Contract Research Unit at Atlantic Technological University, Sligo.
In May, an SEAI-funded report on energy use in Ballyhaunis suggested millions of euros could be made in energy expenditure in local homes, offices and public buildings while radically improving the comfort of the structures. Titled ‘Energy Master Plan for Sustainable Energy Community (SEC) of Ballyhaunis,’ the report was launched by Ballyhaunis Sustainable Energy Community on May 19th.
Several archaeological surveys have been taking place over the coming weeks as part of a series of projects in St Mary’s Abbey (Friary) designed to preserve and enhance the historic Ballyhaunis site.
The surveys are required to progress several projects including the Ballyhaunis Abbey Church Conservation Management Plan and the Ballyhaunis Abbey - Friarsground - Heritage Landscape Appraisal and Masterplan. Overseen by Mayo County Council, these plans are being funded by a mix of Heritage Council grants, philanthropic funds and Mayo County Council funds.
The designation of the Friary as a national monument means that any construction work on the site requires prior archaeological surveys. In October, surveys will be carried out to allow the delivery of a 'Teenspace' project headed by the council and a feasibility report into the replacement of the Ballyhaunis Scouts Den with a green space.
An aerial survey was conducted last week over the entire Friary site via drone laser imaging which seeks to identify evidence of former or existing elements in the landscape, as part of the efforts to identify any historic monuments or items of historic value worth preserving.
A geophysics survey of the entire site was also conducted, using ground penetrating radar to look under the ground and identify potential existing or former structures or man-made interventions in the landscape over the millennia.
Recurring water pipe bursts should be a thing of the past for the Cloonfad area thanks to Uisce Éireann’s works to replace five kilometres of ageing pipes in the area.
Aimed at “delivering a more reliable water supply for local homes and businesses,” the works “will address a series of disruptive bursts that have impacted customers in recent years, helping to restore confidence in the local water supply and support the community into the future".
The works, by contractor Farrans Construction, will be complete by spring 2027, according to Uisce Éireann. Centred between Cloonfad and Lowberry Cross, the pipe replacement project will benefit customers in Cloonfad and surrounding areas, including Meeltraun, Clogher Upper, Derrylahan and Ballinross, Moigh Lower, Tonragee and Mount Delvin, as well as those connected to the Johnstown/Levalleyroe Group Water Scheme.
Uisce Éireann claims national leakage levels are now at their lowest ever, reduced from 49% in 2014 to 36% of piping affected.
The editors of the popular magazine thank all those who have submitted material for ‘Annagh 2026’, preparation of which continues.
Articles, club reports and photographs are being accepted for inclusion and can be emailed to info@annaghmag.ie, or given to any committee member: Tommy Caulfield, Noreen Ruane Dalton, John Kilduff, Jim Lundon, Edward Mulhern, Seamus Mulrennan, Nell Rochford, Mike Griffin, Gabriel Smith and Paul Waldron.
The deadline for material is October 16th, just over a fortnight away.
