Local Notes: Ballina Lions Club host successful men's health seminar
Ballina Lions Club hosted a Men's Health Awareness Seminar in the Great National Hotel last week. The Lions Club members are pictured with Minister Dara Calleary TD. Picture: John O'Grady
Ballina’s Eilish Egan has been nominated for the finals of the Network Ireland Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2025. Eilish was selected for the national final by Network Ireland Mayo in the Creative Professional Category.
Eilish will join another Ballina-based finalist, Denise Munnelly of Great National Hotel, who captured the Mayo nomination for Employee Shining Star.
Eilish is the founder of VIP Weddings and Blossoms.ie. Based at Abbey Business Park, Ardnaree, she is an experienced wedding stylist and florist, motivated by creativity and passion for meaningful moments.
In its commendation, Network Ireland Mayo said that she "offers bespoke wedding design, home styling and heartfelt service that celebrates individuality, sustainability and the joy of human connection".
Also representing Mayo this year will be Denise Munnelly of Great National Hotel Ballina. Denise, a native of Swinford, has been nominated by Network Ireland Mayo to contest the Employee Shining Star Award Category for her impressive skills in organising exceptional events, including weddings, and for her multi-tasking across sales, operations, social media and advertising.
Network Ireland is an organisation which supports the professional and personal development of women in business. It received almost 600 nominations across eight categories for this year’s awards, the highest ever number for the Network Ireland Businesswoman of the Year Awards.
The national final will take place later this year and the winners will be chosen by a panel of business experts. The judging panels will be looking for women who understand business, who are passionate about their business, and who show a determination to succeed no matter what life throws at them.
Ballina Meals on Wheels has expressed its thanks to everyone who donated to, and who assisted with, its church-gate collection on June 7 and 8.
A total of €3,680 was raised for the local charitable organisation, a sum which will help Ballina Meals on Wheels to continue to offer services in the area from its base in Ballina Community Centre, Teeling Street.
Volunteer drivers are always welcome to help with meal deliveries, and can contact 096-21572.
River Moy Search and Rescue is asking the public for support following its nomination for a share in the Tesco Community Fund.
Shoppers decide how the Tesco Ballina Community Fund is shared by voting for their preferred cause in the store. Simply place the blue token you receive at the checkout in the donation box of the local good cause you would like to support.
Then, at the end of a 12-week period, the number of tokens is counted. Every 12 weeks, Ballina Tesco store, which is located at Market Square, donates up to €1,500 between three local good causes in the community, which is distributed proportionally between the three groups. The more tokens a community group or charity gets, the larger the share of the donation they receive.
River Moy Search and Rescue is asking that you place your blue token in its box over the coming weeks, as every token counts.
The next meeting of Mayo COPD Support Group will be on Thursday, June 26, when a hospital pharmacist will be in attendance to address the audience. The meeting will be in the Tennis Club, Lannagh Road, Castlebar at 2.30pm.
The death has taken place of Sandra Kelly, Ballinamore House, Kiltimagh and late of Tyrawley Terrace, Ballina.
Sandra will be sadly missed by her loving daughter Sarah, sisters Valerie and Jean, brother Gerard, in-laws, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.
She was predeceased by her father Martin, mother Nancy, brothers Paul, Eamonn and Noel, and sisters Elizabeth and Helen.
Sandra reposed at McGowan’s Funeral Home, Ballina last Monday. Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Muredach’s Cathedral on Tuesday, followed by burial in Leigue Cemetery, Ballina.
A bedrock of the Ballina Salmon Festival each year is National Heritage Day, with its outdoor spectacle of bewildering curiosities that recall the life and times of our ancestors, and a huge range of stalls that will make your visit a memorable journey into the past.
The organisers are inviting traders to take part in this year’s event, as streets and squares in the town centre are taken over by tens of thousands of people, keen to get a glimpse into a forgotten era.
Commercial businesses, food and truck vendors, and craft people who would like to sell and promote their work can still apply to trade.
National Heritage Day 2025 will also feature a superb programme of live Irish and international entertainment acts, delicious food, and stunning arts and crafts.
If you are eager to showcase and sell your products, then you can register your expression of interest online.
National Heritage Day 2025 will take place on Wednesday, July 16, starting from 10am, while Ballina Salmon Festival starts on Sunday, July 13, running until Saturday, July 19.
Donegal Town is the destination for a forthcoming day trip specially organised by Craoibhín Ballina. The visit to the historic harbour town in south County Donegal will take sightseers on an outing around the area’s memorable experiences, which include Donegal Craft Village, Donegal Railway Heritage Museum and Donegal Castle.
Excursionists will enjoy a boat trip from the pier and have an opportunity to visit the town’s array of craft shops.
Lunch is in the Central Hotel from 2pm to 3pm (not included in the price). Other optional extras are a visit to Donegal Railway Heritage Museum, at a cost of €5/€6 (depending on the group size), or a tour of Donegal Castle, costing €4 per person.
The outing will cost €40 per person and leaves Craoibhín, Cathedral Road at 8am on Wednesday, July 30. The group will depart Donegal for home at 5.30pm.
Booking is essential as places are limited and filling up quickly. To book, or for more information, please call the centre on 087-2785365.
Ballina Dragons Boat Club has been selected as a County Finalist in the Sports Category of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards 2025.
The club, which is based at The Quay, Ballina, was recognised for the positive impact its presence is making in the community.
Ballina Dragons Meitheal Abhainn was set up in 2023 but has become much more than just a club devoted to dragon boat racing.
The group has been building a powerhouse community where fitness, friendship and fun come together in an effort to boost health, celebrate culture and fuel its members’ passion for life.
The boat crew hits the water with regular training sessions, races hard at competitions and convenes for social events that spark lifelong connections and a strong team spirit.
No matter what your age or experience, this dynamic club will welcome everyone who is ready to feel the adrenaline, and who would like to chase new goals and be part of something special.
Ballina Dragons Boat Club will now go through to the next round of judging in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards, when 35 national finalists will be selected to come forward to represent their organisation at a gala event in October 2025.
The Seamus Cawley Memorial Tractor Run in Lahardane resulted in donations to two organisations in the Ballina region. Ballina Family Resource Centre received a cheque towards its counselling services while Teach An Uisce Sub Aqua-Search & Recovery was another beneficiary of the charity event, which took place on Easter Sunday last.
Every Monday morning in Ballina, Hello Café offers a listening ear and a friendly chat in Costa Coffee, Pearse Street.
Run by local people who are trained to listen and to provide a welcoming, safe space, Hello Café is open to anyone over 18 years.
This weekly meeting aims to contribute to a caring, connected community. You can join the group table or have a confidential talk on a one-to-one basis.
The Hello Café team looks forward to meeting you on Mondays between 11am and 12 noon.
For enquiries, please email Jaqi at jackylodge@gmail.com.
Ballina Fringe Festival is an annual grassroots, volunteer-led celebration of local and national visual arts, music, community engagement and international film. One of the highlights of the 2024 festival was the successful hosting of the DiViPassion International Short Film Festival, in a rare staging of the event outside of its home country of France.
In its eighth year, the community-organised Ballina Fringe Festival promises to be bigger, more diverse and vibrant than ever and is now seeking financial support from the public.
The festival’s objective is to provide a platform for local and national creativity in the Ballina area and for it to be accessible to all. In 2025 it will host the inaugural Ballina Film Festival, along with Global Kitchen, several music events, an international exhibition of paintings, and a local climate action project.
Alongside this will be community-driven creative projects that aim to strengthen Ballina as a cultural hub in the North West region.
Donations to Ballina Fringe Festival are being accepted online via GoFundMe. And with fundraising a constant challenge for the organisation, any donation is most welcome. Every euro raised will go towards the running of the festival, which will be staged this year from October 3 to 12.
Donors will also have an opportunity to be part of a raffle for some season passes to the autumn festival.
You can find more details about the fundraising drive on the Ballina Fringe Festival social media pages.
Noted local fiddle player Liz Jackson is taking centre stage at tomorrow’s Music at Lunchtime series in Ballina Arts Centre.
A firm believer that music unites people from all backgrounds, Liz can often be found playing violin alongside like-minded performers during trad sessions, and with folk groups across the region.
Liz’s free, half-hour show tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25 starts at 1.15pm.
A captivating video of Festival Fireworks Night in Ballina by Bartek Rybacki brings all of the spectacle, colour, sounds and twilight shapes of night-time Ballina to life on the social media pages of Ballina Salmon Festival.
The newly-released drone footage is a taster for what people can expect from this year’s annual event, which will be the final night of Ballina Salmon Festival 2025.
Following a week packed with fun, flavour and community spirit, the festival will wrap up with an impressive finale on Saturday, July 19.
From 9pm onwards, riverside Emmet Street will be alive with music and entertainment, featuring performances that will keep the energy high and the crowds buzzing. Expect a vibrant atmosphere, street celebrations and a few surprise special guests along the way.
Then, from 11pm onwards, the night sky will be illuminated with a stunning fireworks display, a decades-long tradition that brings the whole town together under the stars.
Ballina Salmon Festival is running from July 12 to 20.
