Local Notes: Ballyhaunis golf event is a winner for charity
A golf scramble, entitled 'Play in Pink', was held in Ballyhaunis Golf Club last week. A large numbers of golfers played and sponsored it with more than €3,000 raised for the National Breast Cancer Research Institute. Picture: Glynn's Photography
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the untimely and tragic passing of Ballyhaunis and Mayo footballer Ted Webb.
On Saturday, August 1st, Ballyhaunis GAA will host the final of the annual U16 inter-county football tournament for the Ted Webb Cup at its grounds on the Knock Road.
To mark the occasion, Fr Dan O'Mahony will celebrate a Mass of Remembrance for Ted and all of Ted's deceased teammates and management from the Mayo U21 All-Ireland winning team of 1974. Refreshments will be served at a get together in the nearby Parochial Hall (Community Hall) after Mass.
Tommy Caulfield from Ballyhaunis GAA explained that the organising committee at Ballyhaunis GAA is attempting to compile a list of contact details for all members of the victorious 1974 team and management and family representatives of those involved who are now deceased.
“We remember not only the player Ted was, but also the enduring legacy he has left behind through a competition that has inspired generations of young footballers,” explained Tommy.
“Ted Webb was someone who loved the game. He played with pride for his club, Ballyhaunis, and for Mayo. He gave everything he had every time he stepped onto the pitch.
“He played for Mayo for four short years and in those years, Ted achieved more than most - playing minor, under-21, and senior, winning an All-Ireland, and consistently delivering on the field.
“Ted passed away tragically in a car accident in February 1976 at the age of 21. His passing was a huge loss to his family, friends and his community.
"After Ted’s passing in 1976, Edward Webb Senior was approached by a Mayo County Board official to ask his permission to name a new Under 16 Inter-County Competition in memory of his late son. It was felt that naming the competition after such a fine young man and young footballer would be a fitting tribute.
“The aim of setting up the new inter-county competition for up-and-coming footballers in Connacht was to help nurture and develop young footballers and prepare them for their future football careers.
“The Webb family feel incredibly privileged that the competition has kept Ted’s legacy alive for so many years. It started off with teams in Connacht, then spread to include Clare, Longford and Donegal - and now it’s very special to see teams from all over the country participating.”
Local music teacher Andrei Chiujdea is excited about a promising group of young musicians who played their first gig at the monthly open mic night for young musicians at the Community Hall.
The four musicians, Brendan McGowan, Seamus Mongan, Cian Monaghan and Yunnus Abdelkander took to the stage with a set list of Metallica songs which showed how far the group has come in a short period of time, explained Andrei who runs Ballyhaunis School of Music.
“It all started with my first official student Yunnus Abdelkader, who’s 14. He started with me three years ago with a wish to learn a Coldplay song and after I introduced him to Metallica’s drummer, Lars Ulrich, he became addicted to learning metal grooves.
“A year later, 17-year-old Brendan McGowan showed up with an electric guitar and a small amp he got for Christmas, he wanted to learn all the Guns n Roses and Metallica songs possible. Soon after, he was able to play very technically challenging songs like ‘Enter Sandman’ or ‘Master of Puppets’.
“Having two students with the same musical interest sparked the thought in my mind that I could get them to jam together... The two lads were joined by Seamus Mongan, aged 16, who shared their musical interest and whose evolution does not cease to amaze me.
“Recently, because Brandon got caught with the Leaving Cert exams and college admission, the lads found Cian Monaghan, 14 years old and an amazing lead guitarist who can play at his age at a level that others never achieve throughout their entire lives.
“Together they can play as good as any professional band I’ve seen and if they keep progressing at this pace, a really bright future lies ahead of their musical careers.”
The open mic evenings are hosted by Ballyhaunis Community Council with funding support from the Sunflower Foundation. Various young performers play different genres of music, followed by pizza. Enquires can be sent to ballyhauniscommunitycouncil@gmail.com.
Prominent Ballyhaunis pub Paddy’s Bar and an adjacent five-bedroom guesthouse was sold late last week, according to the estate agent handling the sale, Seamus Carthy.
The property made the €300,000 asking price, said Carthy.
The resurfacing of a stretch of road at Ballykilleen, near Ballyhaunis, will go ahead this year. Work commenced nearly two months ago with the road, the L15127, cleaned and verges cut back, a reader from Ballykilleen explained.
Works were discontinued but will recommence in “due course”, according to an official at Mayo County Council who explained the ccouncil’s roads programme for 2026 “includes a plan to surface dress or overlay 750 metres of the L15127 in the townland of Ballykilleen from the junction with the Logboy Road".
Ireland’s taking over the presidency of the European Union for the next six months is a chance perhaps to review how membership of the EU radically changed the demographic make-up of Ballyhaunis after citizens from various waves of new Eastern European member states were allowed to live and work in western Europe under the EU rules of free movement.
Poles moved in large numbers before the last expansion of the EU, in 2007, brought migrants from new member states Bulgaria and Romania to Ballyhaunis. Further major EU enlargement looks unlikely any time soon – though several smaller Balkan states such as Montenegro may enter soon.
Immigration has become an increasingly hot issue in Ireland but depopulation is an ever more virulent topic in states like Lithuania and Bulgaria which have seen their populations fall sharply as workers travel westwards for higher wages.
Empty houses and schools are a sad fact of life while a shortage of workers is being somewhat alleviated by the arrival of migrants from much further east – as far away as Bangladesh and Nepal.
Meanwhile, a radical readjustment of spending priorities may diminish enthusiasm for the EU project in rural counties like Mayo. The EU Commission, the EU’s executive arm, wants to readjust the bloc’s budget so money is shifted from agriculture and cohesion spending to areas that will improve the competitiveness of the European economy so EU-based companies are able to hold their own against ever-stronger competition from China and the US.
