Local notes: Unique boating event coming to Ballina
Christian Fages and a film crew from Athis-Mons pictured with councillors and staff of Ballina Municipal District on the occasion of a reception in Ballina Civic Offices on Heritage Day 2025. The French visitors were in Ballina to shoot a documentary about the town, with which it is twinned. Back, from left, are Catherine McConnell, Willy Brute, Ann-Marie Kilgallon, Chantal Bourg, Cllr John O’Hara, Cllr Michael Loftus, Declan Turnbull and Emmet O’Donnell. Front, from left, are Minister Dara Calleary, Cllr Annie May Reape, Christian Fages and Cllr Marie-Thérèse Duffy. Picture: Didier Bourg
Dragons Boat Club Ballina will host a national regatta on Saturday, August 16, to take place on the River Moy at The Quay. This prestigious occasion, which is the first such event in Ballina, will bring together top dragon boat teams from across the country to compete in a celebration of skill, sport and camaraderie.
The major event coincides with the announcement that this dynamic Ballina organisation has just been granted charitable status, reflecting its deep commitment to inclusivity and community wellbeing.
The Quay will be transformed into a vibrant festival of paddling for the regatta, with races, live entertainment, food stalls and family-friendly activities. It provides a rare opportunity for the people of Ballina, and from further afield, to experience the excitement of a national sporting event in the town.
Teams will travel from Donegal, Sligo, Dublin, Belfast, Leitrim, Carlow, Carrick-on-Suir and Kilkenny to join the Ballina dragons for an exciting and unforgettable day of fun and competition.
The first race starts at 9.30am, with the final taking place at 3pm.
For further information, or to get involved, please contact Dragons Boat Club Ballina at secretary.ballinadragons@gmail.com or follow updates on social media.
Meanwhile, Dragons Boat Club Ballina has been selected as a National Finalist in the Sports Category of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards 2025. The club will join a shortlist of four other clubs from Cork, Offaly, Monaghan and Dublin in their category, with the winners to be announced at a gala awards dinner in October.
A small film crew from Athis-Mons visited Ballina last month to coincide with Ballina Salmon Festival.
Athis-Mons is a commune of close to 40,000 people located in the southern suburbs of Paris, close to Orly Airport, and the French town has been twinned with Ballina since 1993.
Led by Christian Fages, a regular visitor to Ballina since the early 1990s, the group included Chantal and Didier Bourg, and Willy Brute.
With Didier and Willy on camera, the visitors filmed locations in Ballina and North Mayo, including St Muredach’s Cathedral, Pearse Street, the Humbert Monument, The Quay, Killala, Ballycastle, Downpatrick Head and Belderrig.
The visiting group planned their Ballina trip to coincide with Heritage Day, which provided the opportunity to soak in and understand more about the culture of the town and county, particularly its people, farming, crafts and music.
A project of the DiViPassion Association in Athis-Mons, the producers intend to make a short film about Ballina’s history and culture, to appear in a presentation about Athis-Mons’s three twin towns of Ballina, Rothenburg in Germany and Sinaïa in Romania.
Christian Fages and the film crew have thanked the many groups who assisted them while they were in North Mayo. They expressed their gratitude to the councillors and executive of Ballina Municipal District for welcoming them with refreshments on the morning of Heritage Day, and to local film makers Fionn Rogers and Bartek Rybacki for their generous assistance in providing some of their own high quality original aerial footage of locations in North Mayo to supplement the crew’s ground work. The Athis-Mons visitors also thanked the individuals who told their story on camera.
The film will be shown to the citizens of Athis-Mons, and is also intended to be viewed online, with a release date expected before the end of 2025.
Recently baptised in the Roman Catholic Parish of Kilmoremoy (Ballina) were: Erin Susan Warde, Childers Heights, Ballina and Vancouver, Canada; Odhrán Pádraig Gaffney, Waterstone, Ballina; Helen Ellen Philomena Lawrence, The Commons, Ballina; Arla Clare Byron, Ardoughan Woods, Ballina; Reggie John Conway-Langan, The Commons, Ballina; Sadhbh Claudia Aune, Ardoughan Woods, Ballina; Charlie James Smyth, Glen Ri, Ballina; Luca Francois Patrick Durcan, Limoges, France; Francis Henry Hopkins, Convent Hill Avenue, Ballina; Esme Marie Pierce, Knocknalyre, Ballina; Roisin Brid McConigley, Rathmeel Lawns, Ballina; Ha Mi Robyn Hennigan, Breaffy, Ballina; Shane Anthony Timlin, St Patrick’s Estate, Ballina; Chloe Rose O’Rourke, Ardoughan Woods, Ballina; and Rory James O’Donnell, Clarke’s Road, Gurteens, Ballina.
The 8th annual Paddy O’Brien Memorial Walk for charity will take place in Ballina on Saturday, August 9, with a novel new challenge being set this year for the more adventurous.
Ballina’s Pat and Nuala O’Brien and their family invite the public to join them at Ballina Athletic Track, Belleek in memory of their beloved son Paddy, who died on Christmas Eve 2017 at the age of 15.
This walk is for everyone, but especially for those who have lost a child, and all donations received on the day will go towards the children’s charities, Barnardos and LauraLynn, Ireland’s only children’s hospice.
The O’Brien family has also issued a challenge to, literally, walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. You could swap shoes with your partner or bring an old pair of football boots. There will be prizes on the day for the most unique and imaginative footwear.
If you cannot take part, donations can be made through iDonate. Further details are available from the social media pages of Ballina Lions Club.
The walk begins at 11am.
The local branch of Soroptimist International raised €700 for Ballina Meals-on-Wheels during the recent Ballina Salmon Festival. The money raised was the proceeds of a cake sale by the Ballina Soroptimist club’s members on Heritage Day, which took place on July 16 last.
Out of Quay will bring songs by The Kinks, The Eagles, Neil Young, The Beatles and Gershwin to Ballina Arts Centre tomorrow (Wednesday), part of the free weekly series of lunchtime gigs which have been taking place at the busy venue since early June.
This group of local musicians will give a short concert on Wednesday, August 6. The gigs are timed so that people can pop in during their lunch break, starting at 1.15pm and finishing at 1.45pm, with free tea and coffee and a warm welcome for all.
Ballina artists Joe Clarke, David Walsh and Tommy Cook will complete the summer series of Wednesday afternoon gigs with solo shows over the remaining three weeks of August.
The death has taken place of Edith Schümann, Lisduvogue, Knockmore, and formerly of Hamburg, Germany.
Edith, beloved mother of Rainer and Ingo, died at the age of 85 years and will be dearly missed by her sons and their families, and all who knew her.
Edith’s funeral service took place in Ballina Methodist Church last week, followed by burial in Cloghans Cemetery, Knockmore.
Eight acts are lined up for The Conncert music festival in Cloghans this weekend, taking place on the shores of beautiful Lough Conn.
Hedgling, Human Lanterns, Patrick Kelleher, The Bonk, Biological Speculation, Elaine Malone, Nichts and Nonsleep will please a diverse range of musical tastes at the event in The Lodge, Cloghans, Ballina on Saturday, August 9. The eight acts from across Ireland will bring a mix of solo and group performances that begin at 3pm, running until late night.
There will be limited parking available outside the venue so patrons are asked to use bus or taxi, or to carpool. The organisers will run a special bus in and out of Ballina.
An on-site food vendor will cater for all needs, and camping is also available near the pub at no extra cost, with access to a toilet and water. Additional space for camper vans will make for a truly mini-festival experience.
More details are available from the social media pages of The Conncert and on the TicketTailor website. You can also email theconncert@gmail.com.
Thanks have been extended by the organisers to TheNCF Cultural Co-op and to Mayo County Council for supporting the event, which is now in its second year.
The weekly clean-up at Old Killeen Cemetery, Attymass takes place on Thursday evenings at 7pm, weather permitting. Volunteers are very welcome to help with the ongoing project.
show Features of the age-old instruments the lute and the harp are combined in the kora, a 21-string musical instrument from West Africa, one of whose finest exponents will perform in Ballina next month.
Seckou Keita is from Senegal, and has worked with notable artists in the spheres of jazz, pop, Latin, folk and classical, including collaborations with Damon Albarn of the bands Blur and Gorillaz, and Paul Weller of The Jam.
Performing all over the globe as a solo artist with his ground-breaking quintet, Seckou has captivated audiences at Glastonbury, Tokyo Jazz, Chicago World Music Festival, Sydney International and Montreal Jazz Festival.
He has released eleven albums as a leader and co-leader and has earned numerous accolades, including three Songlines Music Awards. He is also the recipient of several BBC Radio 2 folk awards, and was its Folk Musician of the Year in 2019.
Four days after his Ballina show, Seckou will appear as special guest to Grammy-award winner Rhiannon Giddens at her concert in the NCH, Dublin.
The 47-year old artist says that his music is ‘just music for the soul’, but his works exhibit the influence of genres such as jazz and folk, and sit comfortably in the category of world music.
Seckou Keita will take to the stage of Ballina Arts Centre on Saturday, September 6, at 8pm. Tickets, at €25 plus booking fee, are now on sale online at www.ballinaartscentre.com. You can also book by calling 096-73593, or by emailing info@ballinaartscentre.com.
The death has taken place in Arizona, USA of John Cronin, formerly of Lord Edward Street, Ballina.
John will be sadly missed by his wife Peggy, son John, daughters Patricia and Deirdre, grandchildren, sister Mary (Dublin) and brothers Tommy, Des and Michael (all Ballina), along with his nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.
He was predeceased by his parents John and Winifred, daughter Ann, grandson Daniel, and brothers Paddy and Martin.
John’s funeral will take place in The USA.
It has been confirmed that the first-ever Ballina Film Festival will take place this October, as part of the programme for the town’s annual fringe festival.
Filmmakers are invited to submit entries from one to ten minutes in length on the subject of 'Storytelling'. Submissions are welcome from film makers of all ages and nationalities, from first time to professionals. Films must be shot entirely on a smartphone or tablet to ensure a level playing field for all entrants, with the emphasis on talent, quality and creativity. All scripts and ideas must be original.
Entries will be accepted until September 5, after which 25 films will be chosen to go forward to the festival. Three prizes will be on offer for the best shorts.
You can enter via the Ballina Fringe Festival social media pages.
The new film festival will take place as part of Ballina Fringe Festival 2025, running from October 3 to 12.
Now in its eighth year, Ballina Fringe Festival is a celebration of word, film, art, music and community from across the region.
The annual event was initiated by Mayo North Tourism and Moy Valley Resources, and is designed to attract visitors to the region and demonstrate the strong cultural dynamism that exists in Ballina.
Elaine Tighe has been working hard to ensure that tomorrow’s Family Car Treasure Hunt will deliver mystery, fun and fulfilment, to make for a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
A cracking route will take you out and about on the highways and byways of Ballina and its surroundings to solve an abundance of clever clues.
This Family Car Treasure Hunt is for all ages, and starts from Quay West, The Quay on Wednesday, August 6 at 5.30pm, at a cost of €20 per team. Just bring along a pen.
The recent Ballina Salmon Festival outing showed just how popular car treasure hunts are in Ballina, where they have been a beloved recreational jaunt for decades.
An Open Day at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Ballina will allow visitors to walk through this historic building. The occasion is part of National Heritage Week, which is taking place across Ireland from August 16 to 24.
On Thursday, August 21, the Ballina convent building will be open to welcome visitors from 6pm to 9pm.
For further information, please contact 086-3086047 or email ballinaconvent@gmail.com.
