Local Notes: Irish Cancer Society benefits from Ballina fundraiser
Members of the Langan, Winters and Beattie families presenting a cheque for €6,640.15 to Mary Martin, the Ballina Daffodil Day Co-ordinator, who accepted the cheque on behalf of the Irish Cancer Society. The funds were raised following the annual Helena Winters (née Langan) Daffodil Day Coffee Morning in Ballina.
The Helena Winters (née Langan) Daffodil Day Coffee Morning, held in March, raised an amazing €6,640.15 for the Irish Cancer Society.
The organisers say that the event, which was held in Ballina Pastoral Centre, was their most successful fundraiser to date.
Thanks have been extended to all who supported the annual coffee morning, including volunteers, local businesses and the general public.
The funds raised on Daffodil Day go to improving the lives of cancer patients and their families.
Ballina Sensory Park Team is asking for public support to help gain funding from the AIB Community Fund programme.
The sensory park is already well underway, but some further funding is required in order to complete this impressive project, located in Tom Ruane Park, Sligo Road, Ballina.
The AIB Community €1 Million Fund enables the public and its customers and employees to support the local charities that matter most to them, within their region. This year, AIB will allocate €700,000 to charities chosen by its customers and the community, while €300,000 will be donated to charities chosen by employees.
Ballina Sensory Park has already been nominated by AIB to compete for €20,000 in funding, but now the people of Ballina need to get behind the project by voting in large numbers and nominating Ballina Sensory Park.
The group is being supported by St Michael’s National School, Ballina in applying for this funding.
In order to nominate the project you will need the charity name and charity registration number, as well as your reasons for nominating Ballina Sensory Park.
Visit the social media pages of Ballina Community Clean Up for more information.
The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, June 25th, and nominations can be made at www.aib.ie.
Rather than selecting a single charity to benefit from this year’s annual Sponsored Swim and Walk, Ballina Lions Club has chosen to build a fund which will benefit a range of charitable causes that require constant attention, including supporting recurring challenges among some the region’s population such as homelessness and disability, etc.
The 5km/10km walk and/or swim takes place this year on Saturday next, June 14. The starting point is at Bessie Munnelly’s pub, beside Kilcummin Pier.
Ballina Lions Club is inviting all of their members, including families and children, and anyone else who would like to help raise money during this very worthy event, to join in from 10am on Saturday morning.
There will be free water, together with fine produce from the barbeque run by the Lions Club, along with music and dancing in the afternoon. Bessie’s famous pub will even have plenty of zero-alcohol drinks in stock!
Visit the social media pages of Ballina Lions Club for further information.
The Local Authorities Water Programme (LAWPRO) works with Mayo County Council and other local authorities, public bodies and communities across Ireland to protect and restore water quality in this country.
A community information meeting in Ballina next week, to be hosted by the LAWPRO, will examine water quality and water related issues in the Ballina Municipal District.
A core function of LAWPRO is to work with community groups to support the work already being done to promote better water quality, and to encourage more groups to get involved.
Community involvement is key to the protection and management of local waterbodies. This is being achieved through raising awareness of LAWPRO and engaging communities on local water-quality issues and concerns, supporting community involvement in the stewardship of local streams, rivers, lakes and coasts, and building capacity within local communities through knowledge, funding and training.
LAWPRO is establishing networks of active communities with the knowledge, skills and capacity to make a difference. In this way, LAWPRO’s Community Water Officers have established themselves as contact points for local communities. Their work is evidenced by the growing number of groups and champions getting involved in caring for their local water environment.
Over recent years, Ballina’s Cascade Project has been examining how the laneways of our town centre can adapt to cope with increased rainfall from climate change, hoping to connect trails of climate-resilient, cohesive spaces that celebrate water.
This forthcoming Ballina information session is being held to make more people aware of work to protect and restore natural waters in the area and to encourage as much engagement as possible with everyone in the community.
It takes place in the Rehearsal Room of Ballina Arts Centre on Tuesday next, June 17, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend. You can register via Eventbrite.
Ballina writer Faith Hogan will be speaking at Focail Chósta in Belmullet this week.
Faith, a contemporary women’s fiction and crime fiction writer who also writes under the name Geraldine Hogan, was a winner in the 2014 Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair, an international competition for emerging writers.
From there Faith went on publish several books and achieve even further acclaim, culminating in 2024 when her book ‘The Bookshop Ladies’ was shortlisted for An Post Book Award, with Graham Norton, Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern among the other nominees.
The best-selling author’s most recent book, ‘The Women at Ocean’s End’ – her 11th novel - was published earlier this month, and is now available in bookshops.
Faith Hogan will participate in Focail Chósta for an honest and inspiring chat about life, books and writing journeys. She will be speaking alongside writer Ruth O’Leary.
Both authors will bring warmth, wit and powerful storytelling to the occasion in Áras Inis Gluaire on Friday, June 13th, at 3pm, part of this new weekend literary festival in Belmullet.
Cemetery Masses are taking place later this month in remembrance of deceased members of the community in Attymass. Locations and times for the evening services include Bonnifinglas Cemetery on Monday, June 23; Old Killeen Cemetery on Wednesday, June 25; and New Killeen Cemetery on Friday June 27.
A collection for the upkeep of the cemeteries will take place at each Mass, which start at 8pm.
Mayo Stoma Support Group will meet in The Ellison Hotel, Castlebar on Thursday, June 12. The meeting will start at 7pm, running until 9pm. Refreshments will be provided.
In order to have numbers confirmed in advance, please send a WhatsApp message with your details to 086-2444376.
The monthly Swap Shop in The Mary Robinson Centre is an opportunity to swap up to five items for something else you fancy.
This month’s swap shop will take place on Saturday, June 14.
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 this climate-friendly Swap Shop.
The Swap Shop will be held in The Climate Hub of The Mary Robinson Centre from 2pm to 4pm, with access from Moy Lane, just off Emmett Street and immediately to the left of the main building.
The 2025 Killala and Tuam Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes will take place from August 29 to September 4 next. The pilgrimage will be led by Archbishop Francis Duffy.
The six-night package, flying from Knock and staying in Hotel Agena in Lourdes, will cost €995 per person sharing. Pilgrims who would like to travel with the Special Assisted Section should apply to Eileen O’Brien on 086-4013897.
For further information about the pilgrimage, and to book, please contact Joe Walsh Tours on 01-2410800 or email info@joewalshtours.ie. You can also book online at www.joewalshtours.ie.
The death has taken place of Melvyn Leslie Widdop, Breaffy, Ballina and formerly of Blackburn, Lancashire, England.
Melvyn was the beloved husband of Breege and dear father to David and Michael. He will be sadly missed by his wife, sons, grandchildren Lauren, Benjamin, Nicholas and Bethany, great-grandchildren Franklin, Florence, Beatrix and Nellie, David’s partner Andrea, sister-in-law Maureen Needham, brother-in-law Eddie Ruane, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends.
He was predeceased by his parents Leslie and Alice.
Melvyn reposed at McGowan’s Funeral Home, Ballina on Thursday of last week. Requiem Mass was celebrated in St Muredach’s Cathedral, Ballina on Friday, followed by a private cremation in McGowan’s Crematorium, Collooney.
Ballina Arts Centre will be swinging to the songs of ‘Ogre and Friends’ when the youngsters of Centre Stage Vocal Academy bring their comic musical show to town next week.
This is a clever re-telling of the ‘Shrek’ story, which has been a favourite amongst children for more than two decades now.
Shrek is green and mean and wakes up one day to discover that Lord Farquaad has banished all the fairytale creatures of Duloc to his stinky swamp. He embarks on a quest to get his swamp back as he learns a lot along the way about true friendship, true love and being your true self.
‘Ogre and Friends’ will be staged in Ballina on Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22, at 6.30pm on both evenings. Tickets, at €10 for children and €15 for adults, plus booking fees, are now on sale online at www.ballinaartscentre.com. You can also book by calling 096-73593, or by emailing info@ballinaartscentre.com.
Meanwhile, the Ballina-based Centre Stage Vocal Academy has announced that it will run a singing and acting musical theatre summer camp from July 21 to July 25, including prop-making and games for young participants. The camp is for children between six and twelve years of age.
The traditional summer outdoor Masses for communities across the Parish of Kilmoremoy continue this month.
Forthcoming Mass dates and locations are The Fairways, Ardnaree on June 10; Moy Heights, Foxford Road on June 17; The Hawthorns, Killala Road on June 24; and Mercy Park, Mercy Road on July 1.
The Parish Council invites residents' associations that are located close to these venues to contact Juliana at the Pastoral Centre on 096-70555 if they would like to assist with the preparations for the Masses.
This year’s Lady of the Moy will be crowned on the opening night of the Ballina Salmon Festival. This glamorous and exciting night will take place in the Great National Hotel in Ballina on Saturday, July 12, and applications are now being accepted from contestants who would like to compete for the 2025 title.
Whether you are applying yourself or representing a local business, you can get more information by emailing ladyofthemoy@gmail.com or by visiting the social media pages of Ballina Salmon Festival.
The current holder of the title is Mary McHale.
The 2025 Ballina Salmon Festival will run from July 12 to July 20.
Country music singer Ciarán Rosney will be one of the star entertainment attractions at this year’s Ballina Agricultural Show on Sunday, July 13, the opening weekend of the Ballina Salmon Festival 2025.
He is an accomplished guitar player who, in his early years, won the Bach Guitar Prize at Dublin Feís Ceoil for his classical guitar playing. He took a Masters degree in Music Performance at Dublin Institute of Technology College of Music before eventually choosing country music as his career in 2012.
The Offaly-born entertainer also holds a BA in Music and a Masters in Music Technology, has won numerous country music awards and has appeared on ‘The Late Late Country Special’ on RTÉ television.
Ciarán has worked alongside the leading names of Irish country music and released several albums and singles.
He will be performing with his full band at Ballina Agricultural Show 2025, from 2pm to 4pm.
Ballina Agricultural Show opens at 10am, promising valuable prizemoney across all sections of the show. Categories will include cattle show, sheep classes, dog shows and arts and crafts displays.
The death has taken place of Christine (Chris) Greavy (née Kavanagh), Knockroe, Bonniconlon, Ballina.
Christine is deeply mourned by her loving family, sons Terry and Brendan, daughters Jacqueline, Pamela, Michelle and Trisha, mother Tina, brothers Micheal John, Francie and P.J., sister Margaret, sons-in-law Brian, David and Mark, daughters-in-law Frances and Chloe, grandchildren Daniel, Ronan, Cillian and Odhran, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and a large circle of friends.
She was predeceased by her husband P.J. and father Micheal.
Christine reposed at her residence on Thursday and Friday of last week. Requiem Mass was celebrated in the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bonniconlon on Saturday, with burial afterwards in Bonniconlon Cemetery.
May she rest in peace.
Ballina Library has Little Library Bags available for free for every child who is due to start school in 2025.
The aim of this initiative is to help young children navigate school for the first time. The Little Library Bags contain a book, and the child’s first library card, available in English and Irish.
Call into Ballina Library on Pearse Street to pick up a Little Library Bag for your young child. The bags are available only while stocks last.
Those who would like some coaching in the craft of basket weaving will be welcome to join a special class in Craoibhín Ballina on Thursday, June 19.
Tutor Tom Riordan will take participants through the art of producing a unique piece of work during the day-long course, which costs €55.
The basket weaving session will take place in the Craoibhín Ballina centre on Cathedral Road (next door to St Muredach’s Cathedral), and places are limited to eight participants.
Please contact Craoibhín Ballina on 087-2785365 to book your place in the class, which will run from 9.30am to 5pm.
Parishioners in Bonniconlon and Attymass are reminded that the Achonry and Elphin diocese's three-day pilgrimage to the Donegal island of Lough Derg will take place from this Friday, June 13 to Sunday, June 15.
Cian Burke from Ballina was a recent winner in the weekly Ardnaree Sarsfields 50/50 Cash Draw. Cian won €410 in the draw which took place in Katies Corner, Ardnaree.
Patrick Lynch, Ballina, took home €325 from the draw which was held in the Ardnaree Sarsfields clubhouse.
Tickets for the club’s fundraising draw, where prizes are given out weekly, can be purchased in local shops or through the Ardnaree Sarsfields GAA Club app.
