Local Notes: Ballyhaunis businessman recognised for years of service
Popular Ballyhaunis businessman Tom Finn (photographed with wife Christina) was recognised for his years of service to the Parochial Hall in Ballyhaunis during a special Mayo Day celebration to mark the official reopening of the Hall after extensive refurbishment. Picture: Adam Kaczmarek/AK Photography
Cllr John Cribbin has secured funds through the local authority’s Community Investment Fund for the upgrade of paths and safety exits around the Community Hall, known locally as the parochial hall, off Upper Main Street. A sum of €63,000 has been secured for the works, with €7,000 to be sourced locally, Cllr Cribbin told a large crowd attending the official reopening of the hall on May 4th.
Cllr Cribbin explained the funds were secured following a meeting between Mayo Co Council staff and members of Ballyhaunis Community Council, which runs the hall. A garden area was ceded by the then management of the hall several decades ago to enable the current paths to be built. But recent refurbishment of the hall means works are required to the side doors to meet current disabled-persons access regulations.
Tom Davis, one of the top-ranked table tennis players in the country, and a member of the national team, visited the Ballyhaunis Table Tennis Club recently.
Club coach Shay O’Reilly explained that Dublin-based Davis came to the club with a member who travels from Castlebar to play in Ballyhaunis, home to the only active table tennis club in Mayo.
“He stayed the full two hours and played with our members and he also passed on some tips,” said O’Reilly.
The club plays every Monday and Wednesday from 6pm to 8pm at the Community Hall.
A €30,000 grant for drainage works at a walking trail in Brickens will “provide a more durable safer surface for the community", according to one of the pioneers of the project.
Announced under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme, the funds will be spent on installing drainage pipes along Tom’s Lane and “will further enhance the trail", explained Eugene Delaney, one of the drivers behind the project which was born during the Covid-19 lockdown when several neighbours reopened an old roadway (known as Tom’s Lane) that had become grown over. The Lane has since been incorporated into three loop walks around the village of Brickens, two measuring four kilometres and the other six kilometres.
“As a small rural voluntary community in East Mayo, we are delighted that our trail has been successful in securing funding,” said Eugene who added that the project is now drawing a lot of visitors.
Higher minimum wages have made the café hospitality business “tougher than it’s ever been", according to Rory McHugh who runs a café on Main Street.
“It [minimum wage] has gone to €12.70 for those aged 20 and up while more senior staff are also want a rise,” said Mr McHugh. “We see a lot of places closing where you’d never have expected."
Mr McHugh expects a “tsunami” of closures of cafes this year. He believes the Government increased the minimum wage by too wide a margin and he now wants the VAT rate for the hospitality sector to be brought back to nine percent.
Mr McHugh also sees another existential factor facing companies: the end in March of the warehouse scheme by Revenue which allowed businesses impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic to roll over their taxes due. McHugh said his company didn’t avail of the scheme. Small businesses, he stressed, “have to be very careful” about falling behind in taxes and other bills.
Prices, meanwhile, have had to go up.
“In November 2023, we increased our prices to bring our margin back to where it was prior to Covid and all the increases in input costs. Raising prices is a double edged sword, you get fewer customers but higher margins. We had to be ahead of the curve. You have to be adjusting prices and staying on top of bills.”
Perhaps due to higher prices, footfall in his Ballyhaunis café is changing.
“The Monday to Thursday trade has totally changed. Workers are coming in three of the six days, before they were coming in maybe six days of the week.”
This year so far McHugh has had to absorb several increases from suppliers of key inputs including coffee, bread and meat. The price pressures have forced him to put off any business expansion.
“Since January I have had four offers inviting me to open a café but whereas before I would have gone for at least one of those offers this time I said no.”
A 17-year-old musician from Tooreen has won a songwriting prize from a prestigious music festival. Ethan Henry won the school-aged category in the Night and Day 2024 song contest with his song 'Lost in Space'.
Ethan gets to spend a day in a recording studio as winner of the competition, which was organised in association with Soundcaster Studios and Paddy Jordan Recording.
“I can finally start recording for my album that I’m hoping to bring out in the next year,” he said, adding: “Is é ceol teanga an anama."
The Night and Day musical festival is staged in June at Lough Key Forest Park in Boyle. It’s organised by Ballyhaunis man Craig Hughes with his uncles from Gorthaganny.
Local election candidate Alma Gallagher says a new role is emerging for local elected representatives – as advisers to community groups and advocates.
Traditionally, issues such as roads, infrastructure, and service delivery have dominated discussions on the doorstep.
“I have noted a significant shift in the expectations placed on elected representatives, with community groups and advocates increasingly seeking representatives who can offer expertise in accessing funding opportunities and navigating relevant statutory organisations,” said Ms Gallagher.
Ms Gallagher said her experience in rural and community development – she worked as a development officer at North Mayo-West Sligo (part of Moy Valley Resources in Ballina) and currently manages Clár IRD in Claremorris - equips her to meet these emerging needs within communities. Clár runs various social housing and home retrofitting programmes, drawing on public funds while also operating the DigiSpace Claremorris.
“The role of elected representatives has changed,” she stated. “It’s not just about addressing immediate concerns; it’s about providing guidance and support to community groups seeking to access resources and engage with statutory bodies.
“I have developed a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing local communities. It is important to elect representatives who can not only address immediate concerns but also provide strategic guidance and support to empower communities.”
A first-time Fine Gael candidate, Ms Gallagher launched her campaign on April 19th in Ballyhaunis Community Hall. She aims to make history by becoming the first woman elected in the Claremorris district since the foundation of the state.
Ms Gallagher said her priorities include the completion of the town’s Primary Health Care Centre, the provision of affordable and social housing, support for local businesses, and the improvement of roads and infrastructure within the constituency.
Ballyhaunis Community Council’s volunteer-led bike repair clinic returns to the Community Hall on May 19th from 10am to 12.30pm.
This time, as part of National Bike Week funded by Mayo Sports Partnership, there will be a bike sale, a cycle around town and a reception at the hall. A note from the organisers states: “Bring your bicycle and assemble at 12.45pm for a short cycle around town: a limited number of bicycles will be available. Several quality kids and adults bicycles will also be on sale on the day. At 1.30pm, we will have healthy snacks and other refreshments at the hall with some music and cycle chat.”
As part of its Biodiversity Action Plan for Ballyhaunis, the local Tidy Towns organisation is planning to host a Biodiversity Day in the Friary grounds on Saturday, May 25th, from 1 to 4pm.
According to the organisers: “This is an awareness-creating event where we will have two stations or workshops displaying information/samples of the biodiversity present in the park under four headings: grassland, woodland, river and habitats. There will be fun activities for children, like a scavenger hunt, match the leaf to the wood etcetera.”
The proprietor of a successful Ballyhaunis meat company said he has never seen lamb prices as high as they currently are.
Mohammed Cherbatji, who runs Nour Foods, which processes and distributes certified-Halal meat nationwide, also explained that the increase in the minimum wage at the start of the year forced his business to increase prices to customers.
“This makes life very difficult because you must pay someone who’s untrained, just starting off, a minimum wage, this significantly increases the cost for business.”
A local sheep farmer attributed the higher lamb prices to a shortage of supply.
“The grass wasn’t there in the spring. The lambs didn’t thrive in wet weather so now we’re a month behind where we’d normally be.”
Local election candidate Paul Lawless has welcomed statements made by Government representatives suggesting that the construction of Ballyhaunis Primary Care Centre may soon resume. Work on the project was halted over three years ago due to a dispute between the developer and the Health Service Executive, which was to rent the building.
A recent statement from the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly suggested that the Government would, if necessary, seek an alternative contractor to finish the building. Answering a question from Deputy Michael Ring, Minister of State Colm Burke told the Dáil on April 24th: “Should the preferred provider be unable to proceed, the HSE has reassured the Minister that it will be exploring all options to deliver a new primary care centre in the area.”
Mr Lawless said he submitted parliamentary questions and wrote to the Minister for Health seeking answers.
"I also held a public meeting with the objective of making the Ballyhaunis Primary Care Centre a key priority going into the local and European elections. Now is the time to keep the pressure on... We cannot wait another five years until the next election to get the Government’s attention.”
