Local Notes: Ballina club hosts international stars
Ballina Dragons Boat Club Launch their Calender for 2025 in The Ice House Hotel with Nessa Beale, Joan McHale, Barbara Meer and Susan McCready. Picture: John O'Grady
Ballina Dragons Boat Club was honoured to host Pat and Liz Bradley from Heat International Dragon Boat in the United States.
Pat is a former Canadian National Team Coach and current Programme Director and Head Coach for Senior Team USA.
Liz is a multiple world champion with Team Canada and team USA. She is currently a coach with the Senior Team USA.
Ballina Dragons, along with fellow dragon club members from Donegal, Lough Rynn and Athy, recently participated in a two-day technical training programme under the direction of Pat and Liz.
As part of the Ballina Dragons’ ongoing development plan, the club will continue its paddle and coach training with Heat International at their Spanish base during October 2024 and March 2025.
The Ballina club points out that dragon boating is much more than just a sport. Dragon boating brings adventure and friendship while promoting health and wellbeing. It is an international community of people who support each other while paddling together as one.
The busy Ballina club has been engaging in a range of community activities since it was formed in 2023 and recently established its own choir and published a 2025 calendar.
For more details about Ballina Dragons, please visit www.ballinadragons.com or watch the club’s social media pages.
There’s an opportunity coming up for anyone who worked for Bord na Móna in Oweninny or the ESB in Bellacorick to return to the area to view the superb new Oweninny Wind Farm Visitor Centre.
A visitor day for former workers of the neighbouring plants in North Mayo will be held in the impressive centre at 6pm this coming Friday, October 18. Between them, the two plants were among the biggest employers in the North Mayo region for many years.
The get-together will enable the sharing of old memories and provide an insight into the work of the new Oweninny Wind Farm, which is the largest onshore wind farm in Ireland.
The purpose of Oweninny Wind Farm is to generate renewable electricity for the domestic electricity market in Ireland. The project site comprises approximately 2,400 hectares and was formerly utilised for peat harvesting by Bord na Móna to provide fuel for the nearby ESB Bellacorick peat fired power station, which ceased operation in 2005.
If you would like to come along to this special visitor evening for former workers, then please email Visitor Centre Manager Kathy Rowland at kathy.rowland@bnm.ie. Refreshments will be served.
This weekend will see the highly entertaining Bonniconlon Lip Sync 2024 take place in the Great National Hotel Ballina.
The fundraising event has generated plenty of excitement locally, with several groups preparing to do epic battle on stage, as they entertain the audience with their fun impressions and emulate the sounds of their chosen stars. And here’s hoping there won’t be a Milli Vanilli moment.
Bonniconlon Youth hub is organising the event on Saturday, October 19 at 8pm. Money raised will go toward the development of the new Astro turf pitch and community walkway in Bonniconlon.
A total of 12 acts, of all ages, will take part and each of these has been pursuing their own fundraising towards the main cause in advance of the big night.
Tickets, which cost €25, are available online through Events 54.
A free children’s workshop with the Marine Institute Junior Explorers programme will take place in Ballina this coming weekend.
The Explorers Team will be in Ballina Library on Saturday, October 19 as they explore the world of bioeconomy and the ocean.
Learn about what slimy seaweed, fish skin or lobster shells have to do with how people make a living.
The workshop is suitable for 8 to 12 year olds and runs from 11.30am to 1pm.
Numbers are limited for this free event, but booking through the library is advised. Contact Ballina Library on 094-9064454.
Ballina-based cultural co-operative TheNCF has been accepted as a member of the European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC). This will provide the dynamic Ballina group with opportunities for collaboration with other centres around Europe, including hosting European artists in Mayo and bringing local artists to European centres.
TheNCF has already being to the forefront in organising several music and arts projects since the co-op was founded last year by a group of locals committed to building a strong arts profile for Ballina and providing opportunities for local artists from across all genres to showcase their talents. The group’s input into the recent Ballina Fringe Festival was a notable success.
The ENCC office is run by a small group of women from Brussels, whose efforts go towards organising training on EU co-operation, consulting with members, circulating calls and opportunities, writing project applications and encouraging discussion and experimentation around transversal issues such as inclusion, gender equality, non-urban culture, digital ethics, working conditions in culture and the arts, and the ecological transition.
The Out the Gap programme from Mayo Mental Health Association is a popular nature-based initiative launched in 2023 which aims to promote the link between green exercise, the outdoors and good mental health for people.
The mission of Mayo Mental Health Association is to promote positive mental health and wellbeing to all individuals and communities throughout Mayo and further afield, and the association believes that engaging with nature through outdoor activities can have a significant positive impact on people’s mental health and well-being.
An Out the Gap programme will commence in Ballina on Wednesday, October 23, and will run for eight weeks.
The programme includes walks in different parts of North Mayo led by an experienced walking leader, and is for people of all mobility and fitness levels. This is a great opportunity to meet with people in your local community while exploring some of the wonderful trails North Mayo has to offer.
The times and pick-up/drop-off points are 10.45am at Moloney’s Supervalu and 11am at United Drug, returning at 2pm.
The Parish of Kilmoremoy has congratulated four couples on their recent marriages.
Aileen O’Donnell, Behybeg, Ballina married MacDara Breathnach, Carna, Co. Galway, while Donna Casey, Greenhills Estate, Ballina married Kieran Fahy, Tuam, Co. Galway.
The marriages also took place between Owen Connolly, Barrett Street, Ballina and Martina Kavanagh, Barrett Street, Ballina; and Jamie Forde, Lansyn, Ballina and Megan Flynn, Castlefield Manor, Ballina.
The couples are wished good health and happiness in their lives together.
Mayo Cancer Support, which provides support services to those affected by cancer, will hold an Outreach Clinic in Ballina today (Tuesday, October 15) and every Tuesday, by appointment only.
The group is based at Rock Rose House in Castlebar and also holds a monthly Outreach Clinic in Achill Healthcare Centre, again by appointment only. All of the services provided by the registered charity association are available free of charge to its service users.
To book an appointment, or for further information, please call 094-9038407 or 087-2804164.
A Coffee Morning with a difference will welcome people of all ages to Craoibhín Ballina on Thursday, October 24. The special Halloween get-together will have refreshments, live music with Padraic Moran, and a raffle.
The event will run from 11am to 1pm at the Craoibhín Ballina centre, which is located on Cathedral Road, Ballina, next door to St Muredach’s Cathedral.
Everyone is invited to come along, and there is an entry fee of €7. You can get further information by contacting Craoibhín Ballina on 087-2785365.
Ballina Darkness Into Light raised an incredible €14,087.56 at its 2024 annual charity event last May.
Darkness Into Light raises money for Pieta, the suicide and self-harm organisation, and funds raised locally go directly towards the Pieta Outreach Centre in Ballina, located in the Family Resource Centre, Abbey Street, Ardnaree.
The local group thanked Ardnaree Sarsfields GAA Club for an additional donation of €1,000, and the students of Moyne College and St Muredach’s College who helped on its fundraising flag day last month, when a further €2,803.52 was collected.
A team from Ballina Order of Malta Ambulance Corps was among the All-Ireland champions in the national competitions of the organisation, which were held in Portlaoise recently. The winning team took first place in the Attitude Test. This test is designed to test how members deal with challenging behaviours and the unusual situations which they can encounter as part of their voluntary work.
The Order of Malta Ambulance Corps is recognised as one of the most experienced and professional first aid organisations in Ireland.
The highly-regarded Ballina unit provides first aid and emergency medical ambulance services to an extensive array of organisations, events and festivals throughout the region.
Last week, the unit’s training team completed a First Aid Responder Course with staff from Hollister, Ballina.
The death has taken place of Florence (Florrie) Armstrong N.T. (née McAndrew), Ardreigh, Athy, Co. Kildare and formerly of Ballina.
Florence was the adored mother of Nuala, Bláthnaid, Brian, John and Caoimhín, and treasured grandmother to Aoife, Grace, Ciara, Ruth, Caoimhín, Séamus, Fiona, Emily and Luke.
She will be sadly missed by her sisters Josephine, Frankie, Kathleen and Eithne and fondly remembered by her great-grandchildren (their Gigi), her son-in-law Kevin, daughter-in-law Diane, Fiona, Colm, Valerie, many nieces and nephews, relatives, former teaching colleagues and good friends.
She was predeceased by her loving husband Séamus, parents Walter and Margaret McAndrew and sisters Gertrude, Evelyn, Rita and Attracta.
Florence’s Funeral Mass was celebrated in St Michael's Parish Church, Athy. Burial took place in Leigue Cemetery, Ballina.
Young girls between five and seven years of age are invited to join Ballina Ladybird Guide Unit. Registration will take place from 5pm to 6pm this evening (Tuesday, October 15) in The Guide Den, Ballina. Contact 087-2448879 for further information.
The death has taken place of Teresa O’Hara (née Dolan), 21 Quignalecka, Sligo Road, Ballina and formerly of Brierfield, Co Galway and North Finchley and East Finchley, London.
Teresa was the beloved mother of Fiona and will be sadly missed by her daughter, brother John (Manchester), nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.
She was predeceased by her husband Joe, sisters Nora, Bridie, Sarah and Mary, and brothers Paddy and James.
Teresa reposed at the residence of her daughter in Quignalecka on Wednesday evening of last week. Funeral service took place in Shannon Crematorium on Thursday.
Meetings of Moy ICA group will resume next Wednesday, October 23. New members are very welcome to come along to the meeting at 7pm in Ballina Community Centre, Teeling Street.
The Irish Countrywomen’s Association is a national movement with 440 guilds around the country. The organisation provides a warm welcome for new members, offering support, friendship, personal development, education and life-long learning. Alongside this, the ICA, through its advocacy work, networks with many community based initiatives and facilities located throughout Ireland.
Attymass Pastoral Council is inviting people in the area to drop in non-perishable goods over the coming weekend in a celebration of harvest time.
The council welcomes everything from tin foods and tea bags to sugar, rice and cereals. The goods will then be donated to charities after the celebration weekend on October 19 and 20.
The Seán Duffy Community Centre in Ardnaree will host a Halloween Craft Camp from Tuesday, October 29 to Friday, November 1.
Ballina Costume Company will deliver the fun-filled camp for 4 to 12 year olds, and is advising that children wear old clothes. A cooking session is included and the young participants will be able to eat what they cook.
The camp is from 9.30am to 3pm each day and costs €90.
For more information, please contact 096-72154 or DM on the Ballina Costume Company Facebook page.
When Ballina parkrunners got together for their weekly outing on the first Saturday of October this year, the minds of the organisers and participants were on remembering the world’s first ever organised parkrun.
Twenty years ago that same weekend, Londoner Paul Sinton-Hewitt, an amateur club runner who had been injured and was suffering from depression, brought together some friends to run in the city’s Bushy Park to help pull himself from the darkness. And thus the parkrun movement was born.
Now with events in over 2,400 locations around the world, it has grown from 13 parkrun pioneers to more than 10 million registered parkrunners, and an impressive 98 million people having taken part over the 20-year history of the movement.
Ballina Parkrun will celebrate its own milestone next month, when the event will be ten years old, and is now fast approaching its 430th organised Saturday morning get-together.
Some 62 people took part in the Ballina Parkrun that marked that 20th anniversary and first home on the day was Andrew Conway, with Grace Dempsey the first female home.
A welcome was extended to newcomers Natalie Warman, Michael O’Donoghue, Roisin Ruddy, Sinead O’Reilly and Maeve and Roisin Callaghan.
The free community event, which takes place every Saturday morning at 9.30am from Ballina Soccer Club, averages 50 to 90 runners and walkers on a weekly basis and is organised by volunteers.
The Ballina group extended a special thanks to Ann Egan, who first brought the run to Ballina, and to Anne Daly, Deirdre Medlar, Keith O’Brien, Mairead Maguire, Malachy McCarron, Michelle Reynolds and Paul Hogan, all of whom help to keep Ballina Parkrun going.
Anyone interested in signing up for Ballina Parkrun can do so at the Parkun website on www.parkrun.ie. All you need to do then is to show up on Saturday and bring your barcode.
Planning for next year’s Ballina Salmon Festival begins in earnest this month.
The festival committee is inviting anyone who would like to get involved in the 2025 event, which will be entering its 61st year, to contact the organisation.
And the committee will welcome any new festival ideas and anyone who would like to head up a festival event.
Please contact pro@ballinasalmonfestival.ie or direct message on the Ballina Salmon Festival Facebook page.
