Local Notes: All the latest news from Ballyhaunis
Pupils of Logboy National School with their boxes for the Christmas Shoebox Appeal run by Team Hope, a charity that sends gifts to children in underprivileged communities around the world.
Iarnród Éireann has told this column it is “finalising” a report into the parking situation at Ballyhaunis and other stations and hopes to update the public by the end of the month.
“We are finalising the car park review and engaging with the NTA [National Transport Authority], and I expect late November or early December we’ll have an update,” said a spokesperson for the company.
That will be good news for users of Ballyhaunis Railway Station who have complained of a lack of parking spaces at the facility. Local pedestrians have complained of cars parked on footpaths near the station. The issue was also raised in the national Tidy Towns judges’ report for Ballyhaunis.
The building company behind the new social housing development in Ballyhaunis has an impressive portfolio of work behind it including an award-winning estate in Carnacon, near Castlebar.
Oranmore-based C&N Higgins Construction Ltd broke ground recently on the the Abbeyquarter housing development site and works will run to approximately 15 months, according to Colin Higgins, who runs the firm with his brother Niall.
Colin explained the scheme “includes the construction of 25 new homes which includes a mix of two, three and four-bedroom units, together with two fully accessible 4-bedroom homes designed for special-needs use and one community dwelling".
"The development will also deliver full site infrastructure including access roads, drainage, utilities, parking, landscaping, and a new public open space with seating and planting," he added.
“Mayo County Council is good to work with. They have good design capabilities.”
The company has eight or nine projects on the go at any one time, explained Colin.
“We do housing and school buildings. We are also building a library in Boyle.”
When complete, the Ballyhaunis homes are expected to have an A2 building energy rating (BER).
“All units in Ballyhaunis are being built to the latest building regulation standards for energy efficiency, including airtight construction, high insulation levels and renewable heating systems,” he explained.
The nine-unit housing development built by C&N Higgins in Carnacon was recently named the winner in the 'Small Family Housing Project' category at the 2025 Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) Community Housing Awards.
The council said the award recognised the quality and innovation of the development, which features age-friendly, energy-efficient homes arranged around a shared green space.
The 2025 edition of the Annagh magazine will be on sale in all the usual outlets this weekend. The 48th edition of the annual parish magazine runs to 200 pages of articles, reports and photographs documenting Ballyhaunis and the parish of Annagh, past and present.
It retails at the usual price of €12 and will be in plenty of time for posting abroad. The Annagh Magazine Society would like to thank all its contributors, patrons and readers.
Congratulations to Dave and Marion Hester of Culnacleha, Tulrahan who celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on November 20th.
They are wished many more years of good health and happiness.
Ballyhaunis Community Council is inviting applications from anyone who’d like to be a Trustee of the Abbey Trust, the body which holds the historic St Mary’s Abbey in trust for the community.
The Trust is made up of made up of executives from Mayo County Council and representatives of the community nominated by Ballyhaunis Community Council. Meeting quarterly, the body sets the agenda for the maintenance and long-term preservation of the buildings and grounds of the property, popularly known as the Friary.
Those with skills in project or facilities management, fundraising and community work are particularly sought. Anyone with an interest in joining can write to ballyhauniscommunitycouncil@gmail.com.
An extra €18,486 has been granted by government to the Ballyhaunis Family Resource Centre for its running costs in 2026, bringing its core funding to €180,000 for the first time.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, recently announced the minimum funding level for Family Resource Centres will be increased from to €160,000 to €180,000 in January 2026. The extra funds, she said, will enable them to deliver services to children and families.
Separately, Ballyhaunis FRC's Wider Horizons project was recently awarded €6,650 from the government’s Integration Fund which supports community organisations in promoting the integration of migrants and strengthening social cohesion. One of the groups funded by Ballyhaunis FRC, Le Cairde, runs arts classes for youths from the local international protection accommodation service (IPAS) centre where the FRC also runs a childcare centre.
Established in 2004, Ballyhaunis Family Resource Centre is funded and regulated by Tusla, a state agency under the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. It employs a staff of 14, including a coordinator, family counsellor and childcare workers.
Local Palestine solidarity group disperses €3,000
A total of €3,160 raised by the Ballyhaunis Palestine Solidarity Community from a coffee morning on July 26 and it has now been dispersed with over €1,200 donated to a local Palestinian family to support family members in Gaza while €1,195 was donated to a group called the TEA Collective, set up by Ciara Cronin, a Louth woman to distribute funds to families in Gaza.
The Palestine Solidarity Community has been a regular presence on the Square in Ballyhaunis every Friday evening over the past year.
Ballyhaunis and Gorthaganny natives Craig Hughes and Brendan Hurley have secured the Saw Doctors to headline their Night and Day music festival next summer.
Scheduled for May 29th to 31st at Lough Key Forest Park, the festival has grown its audience with the addition of major acts and The Hot House Flowers, Paddy Casey and Richard Thompson are also on the lineup for the 2026 festival.
Festival director Brendan Hurley said: “Each year we try to raise the bar, and this announcement is just the beginning of what’s shaping up to be our biggest and most exciting festival yet.”
Tooreen-based musician Ethan Henry has also confirmed that he will play at the festival with his group the Dog Roses.
