Ballina Lights Committee hits back at local councillor's comments

The Ballina Christmas Lights Committee have hit back at comments made by Cllr Michael Loftus regarding the distribution of GMA funding for Christmas lights in the Ballina Municipal District.

At the October meeting of the Ballina MD, Cllr Loftus and his colleagues heard that work to install Christmas lights in Ballina will begin shortly following the award of a tender contract to a specialist lighting company.

However, Cllr Loftus said other towns in the MD such as Crossmolina, Killala and Knockmore deserve to be considered for such funding.

“For the past few years I have heard nothing but ‘Ballina lights, Ballina lights’. We all love to see the lights up in Ballina, but let's be honest, when the GMA comes around I don’t want to see Ballina looking for more money with the amount they’ve got over the last three years,” he said.

“There’s other areas in the municipal district that want a bit of funding as well.”

The Ballina Christmas Lights Committee issued a statement signed by Chairperson Paul Bourke saying they wished to address “negative and misleading headlines" arising from comments made by Cllr Loftus.

Mr Bourke outlined how the Committee came together following a public meeting in January 2025 to discuss community disappointment regarding Christmas lighting in Ballina and while they have received an allocation from Mayo County Council, a significant portion of funding has been raised through volunteer-led fundraising such as the recent Pumpkin Patch event.

“We therefore took the initiative to organise fundraising activities, raising considerably more than the initial amount allocated. This allowed us to purchase additional lights, decorations and equipment to help brighten up our town.”

“What we feel has been overlooked in recent comments is the enormous amount of additional work, fundraising and personal commitment that went into making this project happen.”

Mr Bourke said the Committee independently covered the cost of its own insurance, the cost of hoist hire and other materials such as wiring and fittings.

“We relied heavily on the generosity of volunteers who gave up their own time to erect, install and wire the lights.”

“Not one member of this committee received payment for their time or work. We gave countless hours, working day and night, in cold, wet and challenging conditions, all to deliver something positive for Ballina and we succeeded.”

“We are extremely proud of what was achieved through the combined efforts of our volunteers, supporters, local businesses and the wider community.”

He added because of this, the Committee has found recent comments and headlines disappointing.

“They risk giving the impression the committee simply received a substantial amount of public funding and delivered the project with little additional effort or contribution. That is simply not the case.

“A significant portion of what was achieved came from our own fundraising efforts, the generosity of the local community and countless unpaid volunteer hours.”

He urged Cllr Loftus to consider pulling together a similar group in Crossmolina, where he is based.

“Perhaps instead of criticising the efforts of volunteers, Cllr Loftus might consider taking a leaf out of our book and bringing a similar group together in Crossmolina."

“We would be delighted to see other towns benefit from the same community spirit and volunteer commitment," concluded Mr Bourke.