Local Notes: Ballyhaunis health centre opening still months away
Pictured at the Mayo Fóroige Citizenship Awards Celebration held at Ballina Arts Centre earlier this year were members of The Bey Project from Ballyhaunis, with the then Cathaoirleach of Mayo Co Council Cllr Sean Carey, Cllr Jarlath Munnelly and Senator Mark Duffy. Picture: Trish Forde
The long-awaited Primary Care Centre in Ballyhaunis will open in the last months of the year, according to the Health Service Executive (HSE).
A spokesperson for the HSE told this column that while the developer “is due to complete the main works by the end of August, ESB works are also required for meters and boards and a date for the completion of this work is being agreed".
“Following handover from the developer, the HSE will need a minimum of two months to fit out and equip the building," said the spokesperson.
Readers of this page have been complaining about what they say is the erratic nature of Bus Éireann routes servicing Ballyhaunis.
A Galway-bound evening bus on July 22nd was scheduled for 7.30pm but didn’t arrive until 8.09pm, explained one reader. He said the early morning service to Galway is a “phantom” bus which has twice not appeared.
“This bus is a lottery, you might be lucky and it shows up,” said the disgruntled passenger.
The dissatisfaction comes at a time when the Government is seeking to increase use of public transport in order to cut Ireland’s carbon emissions. A query to Bus Éireann has not been answered as of going to press.
The early history of the Augustinian Friary (formally known as St Mary’s Abbey), Ballyhaunis will be explored at a one-day symposium in the Friary Church on Saturday, August 22nd.
Four specialists in medieval history and archaeology will talk about the beginnings of the Friary six hundred years ago and its place in the early history of the Augustinians during the pre-reformation period (c.1400-1550).
Dr Nollaig Ó Muraíle will speak on the topic of Ballyhaunis and vicinity in the Middle Ages while Br Colmán Ó Clabaigh OSB will give a talk titled 'Ballyhaunis in Context: The Augustinian Friars in Pre-reformation Ireland'.
'The Medieval Augustinians in the West of Ireland: Architecture and Layout' is the title of a lecture to be delivered by Dr Yvonne McDermott while Fr Iggy O’Donovan will speak on the topic ‘OSA - Reflections on the Augustinian presence in Ballyhaunis and elsewhere with emphasis on the turbulent cleric Fr James Anderson OSA’.
The ‘Foundations of a Friary’ symposium runs from 9.30am to 4pm with light lunch included (12.30 to 1.30pm). Tickets are priced at €20 and are available on Eventbrite and on the door. Proceeds to the Friary Conservation Fund. For enquiries, contact 087-4114628 or email paulfxwaldron@gmail.com.
More details to follow in the coming weeks.
Yuliia Makarchuk, a popular staff member at Aldi and member of the Ukrainian community in Ballyhaunis, made the long journey home recently with her son to visit her parents in war-torn Ukraine.
Yulia, who came to Ballyhaunis with her husband before the war, describes the experience for the :
“What does it take to hug your parents? For me and my eight-year-old son, it takes 35 exhausting hours, three countries, and a relentless chain of changing transport. Living in Ballyhaunis, the road to my childhood home in Ukraine feels longer than ever. Because Ukrainian airspace is closed due to the ongoing war, our journey has become a grueling logistical puzzle: from Mayo to Dublin, flying to Lublin in Poland, taking a train to Chelm, crossing the border to Kyiv, and finally reaching the Chernihiv region.
“Our destination is a small village just 70 kilometers from the borders of Russia and Belarus. It is a place that lives under the constant shadow of war, yet it holds the brightest pieces of my life. We do not complain. Not for a single second. The physical exhaustion fades the moment we step onto our native soil. We endure this road for the ultimate purpose: to embrace my elderly parents, to talk until dawn, and to simply exist side-by-side in the place where I grew up.
“This land is filled with the warm, golden memories of my childhood. In a world so fragile, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I still have this magnificent privilege - the privilege to come home. Yet, being home today feels like a stark contrast between light and darkness, where danger never truly sleeps.
“During our two-week stay, air raid sirens wailed every single day, and even the daylight was interrupted by drone attacks. But at night, the darkness brought the terrifying roar of enemy drones closer, followed by the thunderous explosions of air defence systems tracking them down.”
While my son slept soundly, I found myself trembling from the deafening sound and the violent vibrations shaking the house. In those terrifying moments, my mother would look at me with calm pride and soothe me: ‘Do not be afraid. It’s our boys working.’ She was referring to Ukraine's sharp-eyed soldiers, the defenders who guard the skies while we try to sleep.
“This resilience is what defines Ukraine today. So many others have been stripped of the choice to even return. Entire cities have been reduced to rubble, standing now as ghosts of war, living only in memories and faded photographs. That is why 35 hours on the road is a small price to pay. Our journey is not just about miles; it is about keeping love alive against all odds. It is proof that no matter how long the road, the warmth of home and family will always be worth the distance.”
All roads lead to Urlaur on Tuesday, August 4th, for the annual Pattern in the historic village. A great day’s entertainment gets under way at 1pm with Mass at the historic Abbey.
There’ll be traditional music by the lake as well as sports competitions and amusements for children. There’ll be food, tea and coffee and plenty of music. There’s also a social in the Community Centre at 10pm. See www.urlaurcommunitypattern.ie for more details.
A dramatic fire which swept through swathes of forest and protected bogland in Gorthaganny last year is the focus of a newly released film by Ballyhaunis photographer and film maker Adam Kaczmarek.
“I decided to make the film when I saw smoke rising into the sky near my home on Station Rise in Ballyhaunis,” explains Adam. “It was a completely spontaneous decision - an impulse to take my camera and document what was happening. Nature and environmental issues have always been close to my heart, so I immediately felt that this was a story worth recording.”
Interviews with the local fire service feature in the documentary which premiered on Adam’s YouTube channel on Sunday, July 26, while the film was also shown at a special public screening in Ballyhaunis Community Hall on Monday, July 27.
“The interviews were recorded just a few days after the fire, and the main filming was completed by May last year,” explained Adam. “However, because this was a non-commercial project, I worked on it during my free time and only recently completed the final edit. Parts of the footage have already been shown, but the complete documentary will be presented publicly for the first time now.”
Adam braved fire and harsh terrain to get the footage for the film.
“The greatest challenge was locating the firefighters working deep in the forest and tracking the helicopter as it collected water to fight the fire,” he recalls.
“I understood that it was taking water from Lough O’Flynn and possibly Urlaur Lough. I waited at Urlaur, but the helicopter did not appear, so I took the back roads towards Ballinlough to try to find it. At one point, I had to run through waist-deep water while carrying camera equipment worth several thousand euro. Thankfully, I eventually reached the right location and managed to capture the helicopter on film.”
Is there a particular message the film sends to viewers?
“I want the documentary to show people the serious consequences of bog and forest fires. We all have a responsibility to protect the environment and avoid polluting our forests, roadside verges, drains and waterways.
“I have also always believed that our fire services should be provided with the best possible equipment and support. This film is therefore not only about the fire itself, but also about the people who worked so hard to bring it under control and protect the local community.”
Adam thanks Enda Caufield, Station Officer at Ballyhaunis Fire Station, and Liam Cribbon from the National Parks and Wildlife Service for their assistance and for taking part in the interviews.
Saturday, July 25, saw the continuation of a long tradition of the annual garland mass at St Patrick’s Well in Carrownedan in the parish of Aghamore.
A newspaper report from 1940 provided by local historian Billy Lyons details how St Patrick established his first Mayo church in Aghamore when preaching in the area in 440 A.D in the vicinity of the Carrownedan well near Lough Mannin.
The 1940 report of the garland mass described the erection of a monument to Ireland’s patron saint. “The occasion was availed of by the people of the parish to erect, with the approval of the Archbishop, by was way of a votive offering for peace, a statue of St Patrick overlooking the blessed well. The immediate surroundings of the well had been cleared artistically, laid out and enclosed by a suitable boundary wall.
“In the presence of over a thousand people on the last Sunday, the statue was blessed by the Parish Priest, Father Carney, who in a brief address, after the blessing, told the history of the well and explained the reasons for the veneration shown to it. It was, he said, according to trustworthy records and local tradition, the first baptismal font, and the nearby ruins marked the site of the first Christian church in Mayo. The well had been by St Patrick to provide baptismal water for many converts whom he baptised during the week he is known to have remained preaching in that neighbourhood, following the conversion of the local chief, Ernaise and his son, Loarn, who was later ordained priests and appointed to take charge of the district.”
