Local notes: Santa and his Elves at the Sensory Santa event in Aras Inis Gluaire
Eli Reilly from Aughadoone with Santa and his Elves at the Sensory Santa event in Aras Inis Gluaire. This sensory friendly event which had lights and music at a low level and the wonderful Elves were there to assist.
Belmullet 200 is a celebration of our home, our culture, our heritage and our community. Through this inaugural event we extend invite far and wide. Join us this New Year’s Day as we welcome 2024, a year of community celebration. Gather with your family and friends, your colleagues, your club, your fellow volunteers, your community, and join in these special celebrations. A limited number of group tables of 8-10 individuals is available to book through The Broadhaven Bay Hotel reception call 097 20600.
The renowned Late Late Show houseband, The Camembert Quartet, will be joining us at our Belmullet Bicentenary Ball on January 1, alongside special guest singer Buck Taylor. An evening of celebration not to be missed. Tickets €60pp, includes a three course meal, with pre-dinner entertainment from 5.30pm.
Christmas
The Erris correspondent wishes all the readers at home and abroad a very happy and peaceful Christmas and healthy and happy New Year.
Golden Gloves Boxing Club, Belmullet, had a number of boxer's recently competing at Mayo novice boxing competition, held at the new, very impressive Ballina Boxing Club. First up on Saturday the club had three underage boxer's competing in exhibition bouts. They were Danny Gibbons, Shane Ivers and Jimmy Coyle. All three boxers displayed excellent skills and gained valuable experience. Later on in the day the club had Shane McWilliams competing in what was only his second bout. The decision did not go his way but he put in a great effort and learned a lot from the bout.
Then on Sunday the club had 3 boxer's competing, they were Jayden Geraghty, Sean Reilly and Patrick Coyle. Having only joined the club a few short weeks ago, Jayden boxed in his first ever contest and showed that his good attitude and ability to listen to coaches is testament to the excellent performance he displayed today and came away with a good win. Next up was Sean Reilly. Sean met a strong opponent in his final and although put in a gutsy performance he came up short and lost out on the decision. Last bout for the club was Patrick Coyle. Patrick met a strong opponent and pressed forward making it a tough fight. After getting into his stride Patrick boxed on his feet and came away with a good win.
Thanks to Ballina Boxing Club and the Mayo Boxing Board for a great event.
There was magic in Aras Inis Gluaire recently for the first Sensory Santa event which was a huge success. This special event allowed children to visit Santa at their own pace, with help to transition from the front doors all the way through to the Big Man himself .Music and lighting was at a lower level, specific time slots for each family meant no waiting, Santa had some inside information about each child (which took them by surprise and added to the magic) and a little play area outside the front door into Santa’s room made moving in and out of Santa’s grotto extra easy! A special thank you to sponsors Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet who transformed one of their spaces into a beautiful grotto and to Angela who was so helpful. To Mayo North East for funding a large portion of this event and to all the sponsors.
A special mention to the wonderful Santa Claus and Mrs Claus who were just amazing. Santa Claus (when not prepping for Christmas at the North Pole) is a dedicated teacher and talented musician which added to the experience of every child that met him. On top of this he is kind, generous and full of humour. Mrs Claus (when not assisting Santa in his endeavours) is a skilled Occupational Therapist who has a wealth of experience. She is also gentle, understanding and caring. All the children took something special from both Santa and Mrs Claus.
Finally, to each and every one of the elves, they were just fantastic. There was a very well rounded team, with professionals in areas such as Speech and Language, teaching, special needs assisting, occupational therapy, behaviour therapy, intellectual disability nursing and more joining up for the day. They also had elves who don’t support neurodivergent people every day, but who displayed traits that cannot be learned - kindness, empathy and hearts of utter gold.
Well-done to volunteer crew members Ciaran Deane and Ryan Geraghty, who've just returned recently from a week of intensive training in the Lifeboat College, Poole in the south of England. They are both trainee helms for the Inshore Lifeboat based at Belmullet and as part of their stringent training plan had to undertake an intensive boat-handling course at the RNLI headquarters in Dorset. They covered topics such as passage-planning, navigation, launch and recovery, engine maintenance, rope work and anchoring etc. They are progressing very well on their plan to become competent helms. Well done lads.
The Belmullet Glencastle Senior Citizens Christmas Party was held in Broadhaven Bay Hotel recently. Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the day. Special thanks to the staff of the hotel for lovely meal, Red and Katie and Yukelele team for music and the lovely young dancers that entertained everyone, Fr Eddie Rogan for lovely Mass, and to all who donated money and gifts. A great day was had by all.
MFitness recently celebrated International Disability Day 2023 with an incredible Fun Run! The community came together in a powerful display of unity, support, and determination, embodying the theme for the day’s international celebration: ‘United in action to rescue and achieve the sustainable development goals for, with, and by persons with disabilities.’ From start to finish, the energy was electric, and the smiles were infectious. Every step taken symbolizes a commitment to inclusivity, breaking barriers, and fostering a community where everyone can thrive. Hats off to the organisers, volunteers, and participants who made this event a resounding success. Your dedication echoes the spirit of togetherness that defines the community. Let’s continue promoting and encouraging: inclusivity, understanding amd empowerment.
Cill Chomain GAA presentation night will take place on December 28, in Healy's Lounge, with music on the night by Adam and Peter. Players of the Year awards will be presented to the ladies and men's teams as well as medals for Mayo Comortas, North Mayo Championship and Exclusive Championship and Winter League. MC on the night is Michael D McAndrew.
There was no winner of the weeks Kiltane GAA Club weekly lotto jackpot of €10,500 with the two €50 winners being Kevin Doherty, Geesala and Tommy Goonan, Castlebar while Ella Murphy, Tallaghaun Duff and Sheila Deane both won €25. The two online winners were Dermot Barrett, Geesala €50 and Eileen Harte, Castleknock, €25.
Bingo will continue in the complex Bangor this Tuesday, December 19, at 8pm with a €550 jackpot in 46 calls or less. For each night attending bingo up until and including December 19, patrons will be entered into a draw for prizes to the value of €1,000.
With Christmas a week away, Kiltane 50th/51st celebration booklets, ideal as a Christmas gift, are currently on sale at various outlets or from club officers.
Our Lady’s Secondary School are very grateful to have Chaplain, Fr. Kevin Hegarty in OLSS recently to keep up a long standing tradition in the school. Fr Kevin blessed the advent wreath and in keeping with tradition, invited the youngest student in the school, Makayla Ampong, to come forward and light the candle. This is a special moment each year and is often a fond memory for students looking back on their time in OLSS.
Our Lady’s U19 soccer team made it a three in a row recently with another solid performance and a good win against Grange in Sligo Rovers. The Belmullet side were 3-0 up at half time, but Grange fought back to bring it back to 3-2, but the visitors found another gear and pushed on to win on a score line of 7-3. Josh Carey grabbed 4, Oisín Reilly got 2 and Rory Ginty added another to secure top spot in the group, with another round of games to go. Well done to all!
Recently the TY students held a ‘Breakfast Morning’ fundraiser with lots of delights. There was a wide range of items on the menu from bacon rolls to fruit pots and not forgetting pancakes! Well done to the TY group who will make a donation to the Erris Defibrillator Group. They chose this group as a thank you for the fantastic work they do in the area and for providing the school with a defibrillator.
Recently two teams from OLSS took part in an English debating competition in St Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar. Team 1, Ebony Hefferon and Lauren Barrett were first up to the podium in the first semi-final. The girls showed excellent control of language and debating and advanced to the final.
Team 2, Grace Lally and Abbey Griffin Flynn also showed incredible talent in debating and rebuttal for the second semi-final but lost out narrowly to the opposition. During a break for lunch Lauren and Ebony put their heads together to prepare for the next debate and once again they took to the podium and did a fantastic job of articulating their points and refuting counter arguments.
Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the team but the school were thrilled when it was announced that Lauren was the overall speaker of the day!
Congratulations to trainee Coxswains PJ Walker and Matthew Togher who have just completed their towing assessments with assessor trainer Sean Ginnelly.
A lot of theory and study was done prior to this assessment and thankfully all the hard work and effort has paid off. They continue working hard on their rigorous coxswain’s plan during their free time. This is their 4th management unit completed and they are progressing very well. They will be attending an All-weather Lifeboat boat handling course in Poole in the coming months.
Inshore Lifeboat was called out on a service recently when the alarm was raised at Ballyglass when a floating pontoon broke away from its moorings near the pier and posed a potential threat to mariners.
The pager alerted the volunteer crew at 15.14 who launched in less than half an hour and were on scene at 16.02 having come from the inshore lifeboat base at Belmullet. Matthew Togher was at the helm with volunteers Ciaran Deane and Seán Reilly, assisting as crew. Shore crew providing assistance for safe launch and recovery were James Mangan and Allen Murray.
Once the lifeboat located the straying floater they assessed the pontoon and set up secure tow ropes to escort it to Belmullet docks. The lifeboat was then recovered using the RNLI Land Rover and returned to station and readied for service again by 17.30.
