Local Notes: All the latest news from Ballyhaunis
Students from Ballyhaunis Community School who took part in the consultation phase for the Town First initiative, which is ongoing in Ballyhaunis.
Ballyhaunis Family Resource Centre (FRC) is facilitating a parenting course, starting on March 5th, for parents who are going through or have gone through separation and divorce.
According to the FRC participants "will learn to solve co-parenting problems in a positive way that focuses on the needs of your children; cope with the emotional impact of separation; help your children cope; and enhance your communication with your child’s other parent”.
The course will run for six Wednesday mornings starting on March 5th at 10am. Call Geraldine on 086-0470587 to book a place.
Cloonfad woman Josie Costello was presented with the Vatican’s Bene Merenti medal recently in recognition of her outstanding service as sacristan of St Patrick's church, Cloonfad.
The medal, which recognises exceptional service to the Catholic Church, was presented on February 17th by Canon Joe Feeney.
The Bene Merenti medal was first established by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832 and is typically given to clergy, religious, and laypeople who have made significant contributions to the Church, often for long-standing service or extraordinary acts of faith and charity.
The medal features an image of Christ or the Pope on one side and the Latin inscription Bene Merenti ('Well Deserving') on the other. It is often awarded on special occasions, such as jubilees or retirements, and serves as a mark of distinction for those who have devoted themselves to the Church’s mission.
Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) has assured users of the Johnstown Lavallyroe Group Water Scheme who are frustrated with years of boil water notices that it is working on a solution that will require storage of water to reduce pressure on a large connecting pipe in the Cloonfad area.
In a statement to this column, Uisce Éireann said: “Since the connection offer was issued, there has been a significant increase in the vulnerability of the existing Uisce Éireann owned AC [asbestos concrete] main in Cloonfad. A connection to the Uisce Éireann main is still available, however, in order to prevent any increased risk to the AC main whereby the issue may be exacerbated, storage is required to reduce the peak demands being made on the existing network. This required investigation and modelling works.
“A proposed solution has now been agreed between all parties whereby storage is proposed to be installed by the group water scheme. Mayo County Council and the GWS designers are working towards implementing this solution without delay.”
Piping has already been laid to the households using the scheme.
“Since the connection offer was issued for the Johnstown Lavallyroe Group Water Scheme in October of 2024 there has been significant engagement between Uisce Éireann, Mayo County Council Rural Water Section and the group water scheme designers,” noted the Uisce Éireann statement. “During this time, there has been collaboration to mitigate against any risks that may impact Uisce Éireann’s existing customers while working towards a resolution to connect the group water scheme and remove them from the Boil Water Notice.”
A company building communications towers around Ireland has sought planning permission for a telecommunications mast in Ballyhaunis which, it says, will “ensure adequate mobile reception for area".
Towercom Ltd proposes to construct a 24-metre monopole in Beech Park, Ballyhaunis in place of a 20-metre lattice tower which had been granted full planning in 2022. This [20-metre] facility was not constructed as it was found to be "inadequate to deliver the required level of reception quality”.
In a statement to this column, Towercom said the new structure “will be on a one metre raised foundation, giving a total height of 25 metres".
“The revised facility will guarantee adequate mobile telephony reception services for business and home users in the Ballyhaunis area. The current site contains a 15-metre lattice.
“The increased height will provide line to sight to surrounding transmitters, resulting in higher data speeds for customers receiving coverage from Ballyhaunis and surrounding locations.
“It will also ensure mobile customers in the town of Ballyhaunis can receive enhanced 4G services and, for the first time, new 5G services.”
Towercom claims the new facility will “additionally be available for use by the emergency services” provided by Tetra Ireland, which in a letter of support for the mast last January states “there is the potential for Tetra Ireland to transfer equipment to the new structure".
The increased height of the new structure would improve coverage in the area for the emergency services, notes Tetra, which designs communications systems for rescue and other emergency services.
Towercom is owned by John Laing, an investor in infrastructure with assets globally.
Ballyhaunis men Craig Hughes and Brendan Hurley have announced big names for the Night and Day Festival this June. Big stars from the 1990s Sultans of Ping FC will play alongside Something Happens and Kerbdog at Night and Day which takes place from June 27 to 29th at Lough Key Forest Park.
Other acts on the bill include Fionn Regan and Hermitage Green.
“After the success of this year’s event, an extra stage has been added for 2025 with even more musical acts set to take to the Night and Day stage,” said Hughes who has run the festival for the past three years with his uncle, Gorthaganny man Brendan Hurley, a sound technician by training.
Sultans of Ping FC, known for tunes like ‘Where’s Me Jumper’, will play their only summer performance of 2025 at Night and Day. Other big names confirmed to play this year’s festival include KT Tunstall, The Wailers, The Stunning and Lisa Hannigan.
Ballyhaunis Community Council has teamed up with the Mayo Genealogy Group to offer a course in family history research. A further course meanwhile will be offered in basic bicycle maintenance by the Community Council under the Community Education programme run by Mayo Sligo Leitrim Education Training Board (MSLETB). Dates will be announced shortly.
The franchise owner and manager of the local Supermac’s outlet says a recent award is a tribute to the hard work of his staff.
Dinal Swaris accepted an accolade at the annual Supermac’s awards for best store in the Category C or Smaller Towns category.
Swaris, who’s been with Supermac’s for nearly two decades, grew his revenue by 10% in 2024.
The recent destruction of the iconic indoor dome at the GAA Centre of Excellence may impact sales in 2025, Swaris worries.
“The traffic from the dome helped us a huge amount but we know that games are continuing in the other pitches,” he told the
The store meanwhile was extremely busy in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, which knocked out much of the local power network.
“Nearly the whole of Ballyhaunis was in to us on the days and nights after the storm,” said Swaris.
Dinal and his wife Sureshni won the Franchisee of the Year award in 2022 when they managed Supermac’s Longford.
Congratulations to Elaine Burke who won €660 in the Ballyhaunis GAA 50/50 draw on February 16th. The next draw is in MacSuairtains on February 23rd.
Anyone with an unwanted banger in the back yard is invited to contact Cloonfad United soccer club whose volunteers are collecting scrap metal to help pay for a planned new stand at the club grounds in Lavallyroe.
“We are asking families, farms and businesses to donate any unwanted steel, iron, copper, brass, lead, stainless steel, aluminium, galvanise etcetera,” said the club. “We will also be accepting unwanted cars.”
The club recently submitted a planning application to Mayo County Council seeking permission to erect a spectator viewing stand as well as ball netting at the club grounds. The club is also seeking to extend its changing rooms as part of the works.
The financier behind the conversion of the former Bank of Ireland building into apartments will speak at a seminar on Housing and Care for Older People on April 16th in Castlebar.
Austin Currie Jnr, managing director of Sayvale Group will address a conference on housing for older people organised by Mayo Social, an initiative supported by Mayo County Council, the HSE, Sage Advocacy, Castlebar Social Services and St Brendan’s Mulranny.
Mr Currie’s remarks will relate to his experience as a private sector investor in housing. Other speakers at the event include Ballyhaunis-based councillor Alma Gallagher and Dr Jerry Cowley, chairperson of St Brendan’s Mulranny. The seminar, which will be opened by Minister Dara Calleary, will address the “challenges and opportunities” of providing housing for an ageing society.
The logo of the Dublin-based Sayvale Group is prominently displayed in the windows of the Bank of Ireland building in Ballyhaunis where works are ongoing. According to a recent article, a number of projects being worked on by Sayvale and building company Achill Formwork are being developed under the Government’s Repair and Leasing Scheme, which provides funding to bring vacant properties in need of repair back into use for social housing.
