Local Notes: Ballyhaunis students enjoy graduation evening
Students from Ballyhaunis Community School who celebrated their graduation recently. Picture: Adam Kaczmarek
A driver was left walking back into Ballyhaunis after a Garda patrol seized his vehicle on the Dublin Road near Ballyhaunis recently.
The seizure was part of a continued focus on traffic infringements as part of a national campaign for safer roads, the Garda press office told this column.
“Gardaí stopped and seized a car at Devlis, Ballyhaunis, on July 14th at 1.35pm under the Road Traffic Act,” said the Garda statement.
The statement added: “Members of An Garda Síochána are empowered to detain vehicles that are in breach of regulations relating to driver licensing, tax, insurance, and NCT offences.
“An Garda Síochána operates proactive patrols and checkpoints throughout the country every day. An Garda Síochána remains committed to improving safety on our roads.”
Gardai are working with other state bodies to deliver the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030, “a strategic, coordinated and multi-sectoral approach to road safety…” said the statement, which also added that in 2024 the then Garda Commissioner Drew Harris issued a directive to all Garda members to conduct 30 minutes of high-visibility roads policing operations during each tour of duty.
“This directive remains in place,” said the Garda press office.
The aim of the directive is to increase Garda visibility which has the effect of moderating driver and road user behaviour, said the press office statement, adding: “Increased enforcement is an added benefit.”
This approach by Gardaí is modelled on a similar law enforcement approach in Sweden which was found to be successful in reducing road casualties.
Officers patrolling in Ballyhaunis are also using technology to track and detain vehicles. Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) gives local patrols the capacity to scan and read vehicle registration plates which are then automatically searched against a number of specific databases including vehicle insurance, motor tax, NCT (National Car Test) and CVRT (Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness Test).
Garda mobility devices are smart phones that allow every member of the Garda force to use apps that search Garda databases on vehicles as well as information on individual drivers including licenses and insurance. Officers can check a vehicle’s insurance status in real time while on the roadside by checking its registration on the Garda Mobility App.
Litter fines increased to €250 but how many handed out?
Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns has welcomed a recent increase in on-the-spot fines for littering and dog fouling from €150 to €250, effective nationwide from September.
“Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns welcomes the increase but would also welcome better enforcement of the litter laws to make them a more realistic deterrent to littering,” noted a statement from Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns to this column.
A query to Mayo County Council as to how many litter fines have been handed out in Ballyhaunis in the past 12 months remains unanswered.
An absence of manpower to levy fines has worried some Ballyhaunis residents, with one commenting: “It doesn’t matter if the fines are increased to €250 or €500, the issue is enforcement. We never see a litter warden in Ballyhaunis so how are these tickets going to be handed out?”
The body which holds the historic St Mary’s Abbey and grounds in trust for the community has welcomed new members recently.
Local historian Paul Waldron, an authority on the historical significance of the Friary, was appointed to the Trust on the nomination of Ballyhaunis Community Council, the community pillar of the Trust which is made up of members from the Augustinian Order and from Mayo County Council. Also appointed recently by Ballyhaunis Community Council was Edward Mulhern.
Newly appointed to the Trust by the Augustinian Order, Noreen Ruane Dalton has taken up the role of treasurer of the Trust which meets several times a year under the chairmanship of Kevin Kelly, chief executive of Mayo County Council. The Trust has been very successful this year in applying for several grants to help preserve the Friary building, which served the local community for several hundred years before the Augustinian Order departed Ballyhaunis in 2002. Due to dwindling numbers of religious personnel, the order has since departed several other monastic sites across the country.
A €800 grant has been awarded to Ballyhaunis Community Concil to purchase IT equipment for the organisation which runs the Community Hall in the town. The grant, under the government’s Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) 2026, was one of €232,201 worth of capital funding grants to 256 local community groups across Mayo in the scheme administered by Mayo County Council.
“The use of a dedicated laptop and printer will be a great addition to our volunteer-led organisation,” said the Community Council. “It will also be of great benefit to the many users of our meeting rooms at the hall. All grant support is greatly appreciated and well spent at the hall.”
The organisation pointed out it makes repayments of approximately €1,100 per month on the money borrowed to renovate the hall.
Mayo County Council’s Roads Design Section has plans to carry out adjustments at the Bridge St pedestrian crossing. Works should be carried out later this year and they are working with Transport Infrastructure Ireland on this.
An early engagement report summarising surveying done for a Ballyhaunis Transport Study by Mayo County Council this spring showed strong demand for an upgrade of existing pedestrian crossings and demand for additional crossings in the town with Scoil Iosa one of the locations suggested, along with St Patrick’s Church on Upper Main Street.
The study is being completed as a requirement of any extensions and alterations to public transport infrastructure in the town under government funded programmes such as Active Travel which encourage cycling and walking.
Ahmed Naveed from Ballyhaunis Cricket Club has been selected for Connacht Cricket XI and played in that team’s match recently against the Kevin O Brien XI in Dublin.
While Kevin O Brien XI won by four wickets, the main bowler for Connacht was Ahmed Naveed, “taking two wickets in three overs with a good economy”, explained Hamza Yousaf, public relations officer of Ballyhaunis Cricket Club.
Ballyhaunis will be looking for star players like Ahmed Naveed to shine this week when they play Ballina in the Irish Senior Cup match which is a knockout game in the tournament, explained Hamza, who noted:
“Ahmad Naveed is 21 years of age, is an all-rounder and can reliably ball and bat. He’s a right arm leg spinner. He’s the best upcoming youngster for Ballyhaunis, he scored a half century in our game versus University of Galway.”
Instances of outdoor drinking in Ballyhaunis have been highlighted on social media in recent weeks, with photos of bottles and cans discarded on public benches featuring on Facebook.
An official at Mayo County Council confirmed to this column that bye laws remain in place in Ballyhaunis town forbidding drinking outdoors in public spaces.
“Enforcement is a matter for the Gardaí, however,” noted the official.
Tuam recently introduced by-laws preventing public drinking with on-the-spot fines of €75 for infractions. The fines drew attention from national media which suggested the fines were the first such penalties introduced specifically for infractions of a by-law preventing public drinking.
One of the more prominent musicians to appear at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast this August has her roots in the village of Ballyveel near Ballyhaunis.
A renowned British-based singer of traditional Irish songs, Marianne McAleer will perform when the Fleadh comes to Belfast for the first time, running from August 6th to 9th.
Based in Somerset, McAleer spent many childhood days visiting Ballyveel on the Logboy side of Ballyhaunis. When she visited Ballyhaunis in 2023, she performed with local musicians at Delaney’s Bar on Bridge Street.
Marianne, who specialises in a form of vocal music known as lilting, has won the All-Britain Fleadh 27 times and has multiple awards at previous All-Ireland Fleadhs.
