Local Notes: All the latest news from Ballyhaunis
Mary Kathleen Henry drew a large crowd of line dancers for a 'Spring Hoe-down' at the Community Hall in Ballyhaunis recently.
Ballyhaunis is a “town with great potential,” said Klaudia Teter, who is planning to open her Sunbar beauty business on Main Street in the coming months.
Klaudia made the decision to invest after visiting her sister Roksanna’s Tribe Coffee business, also on Main Street, earlier this year.
Klaudia runs two branches of Sunbar Hair and Beauty in Claremorris and Tuam with her mother Beata, a native of Poland.
“We were looking to open a third store for the past year or two. We see Ballyhaunis as a town on the up, a town that’s growing and we want to be part of that.”
The Teters’ Ballyhaunis store will offer hair and beauty services under the one roof and while she’s upbeat about business potential, Klaudia also states the challenges.
“Finding staff is a challenge,” she said.
She is also wary of the impact of economic shocks, such as the rising cost of living, to her business.
“People are very conscious of the cost and careful about their spending. Beauty is an extra, if costs rise they will cut back.”
Klaudia’s sister Roksana last year opened an outlet of her Tribe Coffee chain in Ballyhaunis, having opened the Galway outlet in 2023 before setting up in Claremorris the following year. Business in Ballyhaunis has been good, she told this column recently.
Popular local woman Breege Keogh is organising a special benefit concert on March 21st in memory of her sister to help improve care of those with Down Syndrome.
“My sister Rita passed away last year,” explained Breege. "She had Down Syndrome and we were heartbroken when she died."
“Down Syndrome Ireland is so important to me and to a lot of people. People with Down Syndrome and their families need more support for their care, they are getting this in some areas.”
Facilities for Down Syndrome in the west of Ireland remain stretched however, said Breege. A new daycare facility opened by Down Syndrome Ireland in Swinford is “absolutely beautiful”, she said.
“The house was donated to Down Syndrome Ireland," she explained.
Western Care, which is funded by the HSE, also offers care in Mayo to those with Down Syndrome.
A major challenge is the ageing of carers: those with Down Syndrome on average live to the age of 50 but some live into their sixties.
"Many however live with elderly parents. When they [parents] pass away it can be hard.”
Thus the need for more full-time residential spaces locally, said Breege.
Deirdre Sheridan, secretary of Down Syndrome Mayo, will attend the concert on March 21st . The show starts at 8pm with music by local group Harmony.
The topic of water will be central to the next meeting of the Connacht Climate Café on Saturday, March 21st, from 11am to 1pm at the Family Resource Centre, Ballyhaunis.
“For World Water Day, we hope to discuss the topics of how water moves through soil and the land and what it means for land management,” explained a spokesperson for the group, Laura Dinraths.
The group meets monthly in the Family Resource Centre, welcoming people from Ballyhaunis and beyond to discuss various topics and exchange ideas and experiences, explained Ms Dinraths.
“To start the year, we had a workshop kindly led by Caithriona of Food Forests Ireland, where participants learned about this initiative of creating small food forests around the county, including drawing plans for planting. Participants from the community garden and the climate café showed interest in starting our own food forest in the community. We had a few teas, coffees and chats about what is needed in the community and what we could do to be more resilient in the face of change.”
The upcoming session will also include a seed and plant swap as planting season approaches.
A player recently called up to the Irish Under-16 rugby squad is the grandson of Ballykilleen native Michael McNeive who is long resident in Manchester. Noah Walsh, who plays for Rochdale Mayfield club near Manchester, was selected on the Ireland U-16s squad for the upcoming Four Nations tournament.
Ballyhaunis youth Ross Ruane Dalton, meanwhile, has been selected for the national schoolboy soccer team, joining the squad for a series of games against international teams this spring.
Farmers who have not pre-purchased fertiliser are enduring much nervousness over the jump in prices due since the American-Israeli attacks on Iran, according to Knock-based dairy farmer and Irish Farmers Association officer Jarlath Walsh.
Oil and gas [a key ingredient in fertiliser making] have jumped sharply since the conflicts started.
“There’s a double whammy of higher fertiliser costs and then contractors will have to put up prices to pay for dearer fuel. That will make it much more expensive to grow and then harvest grass.”
Some farmers will have bought their fertiliser earlier, said Walsh while others are currently adopting a “wait and see approach” on purchases “but you can only hold off for so long".
The Brackloon School and District Reunion Group, Ballyhaunis are pleased to advise that a homecoming festivity is been organised this year as part of the 'Clans of Mayo' initiative by Mayo County Council to encourage diaspora to travel to Mayo throughout 2026.
Seamus Kenny, a spokesperson for the Brackloon group, said “the premise of the planned festivities is to encourage community interaction and visitor attraction similar to the successful Gathering 2013, especially noting the sense of community and spirit engendered by the event".
Exciting plans for the celebratory weekend events are presently been finalised for August this year. Further details will be available in the coming days.
If you wish to follow festive developments over the coming weeks, you can follow the group community Facebook page at 'Brackloon Reunion' or email brackloonreunion@hotmail.com for further information.
Global economic uncertainty and the higher cost of living are driving people to sell their old gold, according to gold buyer Shane Crossan, who travels to Ballyhaunis from Donegal every few months to buy the precious metal.
A jeweller with his own family store in Buncrana, Shane rents a room at the Community Hall in Ballyhaunis every few months. This month was the second time he’s been in Ballyhaunis and trade is good.
“They come from all over the region to Ballyhaunis with pieces of gold to sell. The price of gold is high. But everyone has a piece they’ve not worn in 20 years and is willing to sell.”
The value of gold soared last year due in large part to the economic uncertainty engendered by the Trump administration’s erratic policy making process. Spot prices for gold hit $4,381/ounce in October 2025, up from $3,000 at the start of the year, marking the largest increase since 1979, as buyers globally sought to acquire the metal.
Shane Crossan doesn’t worry about the nature or condition of the gold pieces he’s offered.
“Mostly it’s jewellery but I’ve also bought gold coins. The condition of the pieces doesn’t matter because it’s all sold on as metal rather than jewellery. I’m a glorified scrap merchant!”
In his 40 years in the jewellery trade Shane has rarely seen gold prices so high. He enjoys the journeys across the country.
“It gets me out and about.”
He aims to be back in Ballyhaunis in June - he’ll also travel to Claremorris, which he describes as “one of the busiest towns in Ireland” in terms of people seeking to sell gold.
“My typical clients are 60 to 70-year-old people with pieces of jewellery that have gone out of fashion and the kids aren’t interested in them. If the price is right they’ll sell them on.”
Asked if he’s worried about being presented with stolen gold, Shane said he’s so far not had to face that prospect.
“You’d be wary of a young fella coming in with three wedding rings, you just know he didn’t own them. But luckily I’ve not been confronted with that situation… We’ve been robbed in our own jewellery shop so no good luck comes out of that.”
Shane pays by weight but it all depends on the carat.
“I work out which carat the piece is and then I weigh it. An eighteen carat piece is worth twice as much as a nine carrat piece. I then weigh it and pay by the gram.”
He also buys silver “but you need a lot of silver to make it worthwhile,” he said.
