Local Notes: Ballina school launches fundraiser for special bus
Students and staff from St Dymphna's School in Ballina are pictured at the launch of their fundraiser for a special bus. Picture: John O'Grady
River Moy Search and Rescue will benefit from a spin-a-thon relay by GAA players in Ballina on Easter Saturday.
Female and male footballers from various local clubs will leave aside their rivalries to take part in an energy-sapping stationary bike ride in the Jackie Clarke Collection, Pearse Street, Ballina from 11am on Saturday, April 19.
River Moy Search and Rescue was established in Ballina almost 14 years ago, with its HQ at the old Quay School, Ballina. It is a search, recovery and rescue organisation, consisting of a dedicated group of volunteers who will help in a search for somebody who may have been tragically lost to water. Its principal objective is to perform search and recovery work on the River Moy in Ballina. The organisation also seeks to combat the problem of marine litter and to improve the marine environment.
The charity spin-a-thon is being organised by local community activist and avid charity fundraiser, Elaine Tighe. So call in to the town centre museum and show your support for the event.
Some members of Ballina Carers Support Group enjoyed a weekend break in Sligo town recently.
The organisers of the two-day outing reported a five-star experience from their trip, and participated in activities from yoga to beach walks, as well as live music, dancing and spa treats.
Membership for the 2025 season is now open at Ballina Golf Club, where players can avail of a number of categories. Details can be had by contacting the office on 096-21050.
Recent results from the club are as follows: Sunday, March 16 - 16-Hole Stableford: 1st, Sean Walsh - 42pts; 2nd, Noel Murphy - 39pts; and 3rd, Declan Rigney - 38pts.
Sunday, March 23 - 16-Hole Stableford: 1st, Kenneth Lawrence - 36pts; 2nd, Keith Desmond - 34pts; and 3rd, Donal Tuohy - 33pts.
Sunday March 30 - 18-Hole Single Stableford: 1st, Stewart Bruce - 45pts; 2nd, Noel Murphy - 44pts; and 3rd, Mickey Tighe - 42pts.
Ballina Golf Club is also reminding everyone that it is currently running Ladies and Gents Get into Golf programmes, and details of these are also available from the office.
The death has taken place of Pauline Cooney (née Judge), Carrentrila, Ballina.
Pauline was the beloved wife of Tom and loving mother to David (Foxford), Harry (Dublin), Paula (Minnesota, USA) and her godson Brendan Mullen (New Jersey).
She will be sadly missed by her loving husband, sons, daughter, godson, sister Noelle Finnerty (Ballina), daughters-in-law Irene, Jackie and Tracy, son-in-law Aldo Walker, grandchildren James, Claire, Rachel, Eoin, Bridget and Tommy, great grandchild Emily, Paula’s stepchildren Natalya and Graham, brother-in-law Owen and his wife Attracta, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.
She was predeceased by her parents Michael and Bridget, brothers Sean, Paddy and Kevin, and sisters Phyllis, Carmel and Sr Mary Magdalen.
Pauline reposed at McGowan’s Funeral Home, Ballina. Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina on Monday of last week, followed by burial in Leigue Cemetery, Ballina.
A free Relaxation and Heartfulness Meditation session will be offered in Ballina Library at the weekend. You are encouraged to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and come along this coming Saturday morning, April 12, between 11am and 12pm.
For further information, please contact Anne on 087-9337121 or Angelika on 087-7444481. Booking is essential.
The Vincentian Order, based in Knock, will conduct a Parish Mission in Attymass next month.
Organised by Attymass Parish Council, the Mission will take place from Wednesday, May 14 until Saturday, May 17, with more details to be announced later.
Western Alzheimer’s is seeking volunteers for its befriending programme, which matches volunteers with a compatible companion who has dementia at the early to moderate stage.
The volunteer befriender typically spends two to three hours every week in or outside the family home, thus facilitating the primary carer to take a break. The support will range from companionship in the person’s home to partaking in shared interests such as going for a walk, going for a coffee, having a chat, playing a game or looking at old photos. Continuity of the relationship is of paramount importance and volunteers will be selected partly on their capacity and willingness to make a long-term commitment. Full training, induction and support will be provided.
To become a volunteer, please contact Caroline on 087-3694477 or 094-9364900. You can also email volunteer@westernalzheimers.ie.
Western Alzheimer’s annual Tea Day takes place this coming Friday, April 11.
Conradh na Gaeilge, Ballina has thanked everyone who contributed to its collection on St Patrick’s Day outside churches in Ballina, Knockmore and Rathduff. A total of €985.15 was raised.
The death has taken place in Florida, USA of Philomena (Phil) Gunning (née McNamara), formerly of Pollagh, Achill.
Philomena, who died on March 10 last, was the sister of Margaret Reddington, Station Road, Ballina, and is survived by her children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews.
Next Saturday is monthly Swap Shop day at the Mary Robinson Centre, Emmett Street, Ballina.
To take part in the climate-friendly Swap Shop, you can bring along up to five items which must be clean, gently used and in good condition, and which may include clothes, books, toys and plants. Once you arrive, you will receive tokens for each item you are swapping. You can then use these tokens to purchase or swap new items from the selection available on the afternoon. There is usually something for everyone at the Swap Shop.
Electrical items or food items such as baby formula cannot be accepted. Also ineligible for swapping are toys with a cord over 30cm, car seats, baby slings or other safety equipment.
The Swap Shop will be held in the Climate Hub of the Mary Robinson Centre this coming Saturday, April 12, from 2pm to 4pm.
The Mary Robinson Centre is located on Emmet Street, Ballina (opposite St Muredach’s Cathedral), and access to the centre’s Climate Hub is via Moy Lane, immediately to the left of the building.
Last weekend, Ballina Arts Centre opened two new and very different exhibitions, one of which forms the basis of a Family Art Workshop at the centre, which will take place this coming Saturday, April 12.
Children, and the child inside all of us, will be entranced by ‘Brain and Wind’, an exhibition of floating, colourful, fantastical creatures and sculptures, which represent the emotions and feelings inside the head of the artist, Seiko Hayase.
“At 2am, a wind of emotions blows endlessly in my brain," said the artist. “Mysterious objects appear. They take shape in my dreams and appear, floating in the air."
In this exhibition, Seiko invites the viewer to take a stroll inside her head and enjoy the way the pieces impact their own emotions. Much like Seiko herself, this exhibition is playful, energising and fun to be around.
The event on Saturday, from 2pm to 3.30pm, will be an art workshop for families based around this exhibition. The session will begin by viewing the current artworks and then, by taking them as inspiration, participants will create their own collaborative pieces using techniques such as collage, mark making and painting.
This workshop is suitable for children age from three and upwards, and children must be accompanied by an adult. The cost of the workshops is €12 for one adult and child. The cost for additional children is €5.
The other exhibition currently on display in the centre is Hina Khan’s ‘Neither Yours nor Mine/Na Teri Te Na Meri’.
These works explore the futility of war as a means of exerting ownership on the land. Hina takes the stance of an observer looking at land being destroyed in the name of honour, country, religion or nation.
“Even after we have spilt enough blood to fill the oceans, the land will remain ‘Na Teri te Na Meri’, so why are we at war over it?” asks Hina.
Both exhibitions can be viewed free of charge until May 31. Booking for the workshop can be made via the Ballina Arts Centre Box Office on 096-73593.
A new event in the Ballina Salmon Festival calendar this year is the Battle of the Clubs Lip Sync contest. Further details will be announced later but you can save the date – Friday, July 18 - with the exciting community event to take place in the Great National Hotel Ballina.
A meeting to look at expanding Connect Cafés in Ballina will set out the key benefits of this project for everyone involved.
All are welcome to come along to the meeting in Ballina Library, Pearse Street on Friday, April 11 at 2pm, and to find out about this exciting project. Information will be outlined on the ways you can help, including to consider volunteering for as little as one hour a month.
Connect Cafés is an initiative of Mental Health Ireland, which is the longest established mental health charity in Ireland, founded in 1966. The aim of Mental Health Ireland is to promote mental health and wellbeing for all and to support people with lived experience of mental health challenges in their recovery. The organisation works very closely with the HSE and the Office of Mental Health Engagement and Recovery. Mental Health Ireland also works with a range of partners in the statutory, community, voluntary and corporate sectors in Ireland and abroad.
The benefits of a Connect Café, where people are welcome to sit and talk over a cuppa in a local café, include people making new connections, helping to reduce isolation and loneliness, and learning about yourself and others. This setting also creates a space to have open and meaningful conversations, and helps to develop a sense of belonging.
Training for volunteers will be provided in listening and talking to people, and you can find out more about this new Ballina project on Friday afternoon.
The results of the game played by members of Ballina Bridge Club on Tuesday, April 1 were as follows: 1st, E. Walker and A. Maguire; 2nd, A. Ivers and B. Mulligan; 3rd, M. Mongan and M. O Dowd; 4th, S. and A. Callaghan; 5th, F. Walkin and G. Scanlon; and 6th, H. Moran and N. Kilroy.
Ballina Bridge Club meets every Tuesday evening in the Moy Club, Dillon Terrace, Ballina and newcomers are always welcome.
A Bereavement Support Group meeting will take place in Ballina at 8pm tomorrow evening, Wednesday, April 9.
Trained facilitators will offer their services at the Newman Institute to those requiring support.
All are welcome and there is no need to book in advance. Meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of every month.
The Newman Institute is located in the grounds of St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina.
A film screening in Ballina Arts Centre next week will feature an exclusive showing of the 2023 Japanese animated action film ‘City Hunter: Angel Dust’.
Ballina Arts Centre has partnered with the Japanese Film Festival to bring this film to Mayo on Tuesday, April 15, at 7.30pm.
Ryo Saeba is known as City Hunter, the top ‘sweeper’ within the underworld. Based in the Japanese city of Shinjuku as a private detective, he and his partner Kaoru Makimura take on a variety of clients. Their latest case is provided by Angie, a filmmaker, with a simple request – to find her missing cat. Meanwhile, Saeko Nogami of the Metropolitan Police investigates an invention of the biotech company Zoltech. Can these two cases possibly be linked? There’s clearly more to Angie’s request than she’s willing to share.
Tickets, at just €6 plus booking fee, can be purchased online at www.ballinaartscentre.com. You can also book by calling 096-73593 or emailing info@ballinaartscentre.com.
‘City Hunter: Angel Dust’ runs for 94 minutes and carries a ‘15’ rating.
The Transition Year class of St Muredach’s College, Ballina are supporting Our Shoes this month, as the charity aims to collect and ship out thousands of football boots and shoes from all over Ireland to needy homes in Africa.
Our Shoes was set up in 2019 after Ciarán McHugh from Sligo, alongside Kevin Grant and Geoff Lockwood, visited the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town, South Africa, home to 2.4 million people. Our Shoes ran two pilot appeals which saw the donation of 15,000 pairs of sports shoes that had outlived their intended use in Ireland, but still have lots of life left in them. The charity distributes these shoes to deserving children and teenagers in South African townships.
The Ballina secondary school students would be grateful if you could donate any unwanted runners and football boots to this worthy cause. Shoes and boots must be in pairs and be in good condition.
All donations can be dropped into the school office and donations will be accepted up to this coming Friday, April 11.
Craoibhín Ballina is hosting an Easter Coffee Afternoon at its centre on Cathedral Road next Thursday, April 17, from 12 noon to 2pm.
Refreshments, a raffle and lively music will add to a great atmosphere, at a cost of just €5 per person. All are welcome.
For more information, please call Craoibhín Ballina on 087-2785365.
National Heritage Day is a very special occasion in the year when the clocks turn back a few generations in Ballina and our history and our heritage become fun for all the family to enjoy in a spectacle of curiosities.
National Heritage Day 2025 will feature a superb programme of live Irish and international entertainment acts, delicious food, stunning arts and crafts, and a glimpse into the traditions of our past.
All part of Ballina Salmon Festival, the organisers of this year’s National Heritage Day are now inviting commercial businesses, food and truck vendors, and craft people who would like to sell and promote their work to apply to trade during National Heritage Day 2025 on Wednesday, July 16, starting from 10am.
Ballina Salmon Festival will be held this year from Sunday, July 13 to Saturday, July 19.
