Local Notes: Men's Shed is going strong in Ballyhaunis
Members of Ballyhaunis Men's Shed at their headquarters at the local Friary Grounds.
Ballyhaunis Men’s Shed is busy these days at its property located in the Friary Grounds. Handmade woodwork made by the group will be available at the upcoming Bargain Hunt in the Community Hall on November 19th.
The club welcomes new members for tea and chat at its open meetings each Tuesday and Thursday from 10 to 11:30am. Active members include Jim Goulding, John Kenny, Seamus Freeman and David Weidner. Also actively involved are Tom Regan, Con Boyle, Eamon Neary, Aidan Gaughan and Stephan Grogan.
The Men’s Shed recently completed a picnic table and chairs for the Mayo Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) shelter located in Pattenspark near Ballyhaunis. The group is always welcoming to new faces and ideas for projects - and is likewise willing to help members needing a bit of help with their own work.
The average household in Ballyhaunis spent €14,418 on energy for car and home according to a presentation by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) in a recent presentation on sustainable energy solutions which could potentially realise major savings locally.
The presentation, by Orla Nic Suibhne, a consultant for the SEAI, also showed that 94% of 2,682 homes (of which 2,273 are non-vacant) in the greater Ballyhaunis area have substandard windows and doors. Triple glazing can drastically reduce energy loss, explained Subihne who spoke at a public meeting in the Friary House on November 7th.
Data presented by Ms Nic Suibhne showed that Ballyhaunis homes have much catching up to do in terms of energy efficiency with only two homes rated A2 and 19 homes rated A3 in the building energy ratings (BER) compared to 39 and 31 houses in lowest ratings, F and G, respectively.
Some 21 local homes have B ratings while the bulk of homes -126 – are in the C category of BER ratings. A total of 105 homes are D-rated and a similar figure are E-rated. The largest percentage (28.4%) of Ballyhaunis homes were built in the 2001-2010 period while only 3.2% were built in the period 2016 and later. Twenty percent of local homes were built in the period 1981 to 2001.
Oil accounts for 63% of local home heating sources, followed by turf (13%), electricity (9%), coal (4%) and natural gas (1%). Only 1% of Ballyhaunis homes have a heat pump installed. The local Community Hall installed and commissioned a heat pump in 2022.
There are several key actions that could reduce heat loss and cut energy bills, according to Ms Nic Suibhne, who pointed out that 54% of local homes have sub-optimal roof insulation while 71% of local homes, she claims, can improve their wall insulation. Also, 57% of homes in Ballyhaunis have “poor heating controls”.
A steering group elected at the November 7th meeting will now endeavour to establish a Sustainable Energy Community plan for Ballyhaunis which will enable local homes and businesses to draw down grants to fund energy efficiency improvements.
A Ballinlough couple is farming willow trees, also known as salix or sally, for making coffins in what could be one of the most lucrative and productive farming operations in the area.
Cloonlough couple Kate and Alan Burrows, who trade as Westcounty Willows, came to national attention last year when their idea for coffins made from willows won the Design and Crafts Council awards in 2022 for sustainable business.
Orders from the coffins have been steady, explained Kate.
“We are getting quite a few. The idea was to invite people in to weave a loved one's coffin. Likewise, people with terminal illnesses come. A lot of people take it home and use it as a blanket box in the meantime. People want to be involved in the process, to take the worry away from their family. It’s a comfort to know it’s part of what happens in the end.”
Having long been a weaver of baskets, Kate’s decision to weave coffins was triggered by personal sorrow.
“When Mom died eight years ago we decided to bury her in a willow coffin. It gave me comfort to know she was in such a beautiful coffin. I wasn’t able to weave it myself but I knew then that I wanted to weave coffins.”
Willows were a common sight where Kate grew up in Somerset. The couple couldn’t source sufficient willow when they moved to Cloonlough five years ago and concentrated on market gardening until they grew enough. Now they’ve 6,000 rods growing on a half-acre site of various colours.
There are hundreds of varieties of willow, Kate explains, in purple, black, yellow and other colours.
“It’s a wonderful material to work with, I can create my own palette.”
After cutting, the willows are left in the barn for a few months to dry out, then soaked in water to make them supple for weaving. Sometimes the six-foot rods are soaked in a tank for a week. It takes 100 rods to complete a shopping basket and 1,000 for a coffin.
Kate, who worked as a carer in the UK, said the couple has been in demand as guest teachers in schools, nursing homes and art centres. Currently, they run their courses at the Trinity Arts Centre in Castlerea.
One of the most complex but enjoyable commissions the couple has had was the repair of several woven curlew sculptures displayed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to raise awareness of the critically endangered bird species.
“Some of the rods were rotten,” explains Kate.
A film company meanwhile commissioned them to make a few dozen fish traps for a scene in a period drama. The owners of Belvedere House in Westmeath commissioned edging and archways for the property’s walled garden.
The best of Irish and international talent took to the boards at the Community Hall on November 12th for a talent show that showcased the depth and diversity of local talent.
Among the 25 acts taking part were Cross Céilí Band - Davóg Freyne, Edel Fleming, Aodhán Hughes and Conor Maheady – who won a national Fleadh Cheoil title earlier this year.
Organised by Cáirde musical group and Ballyhaunis Community Council, the show opened with Drumadore Tuam Beatz and Tribadores who were followed up by a multinational musical group that included Martin Fitzmaurice, John Dave Halasan, Jonathan Adam and Irene Nunes.
Later, Saoirse Doyle accompanied by Ludmila Burcovschi played from a Walt Disney film while local couple Linford Woods and Shayla Rasmussen teamed up on .
Local musical maestro Oliver Jordan sang , accompanied by Ludmila Burcovschi while the Word of Life choir, drawn from the local Slovak community, sang .
Brazilian musician -and Dawn Meats employee – Rodrigo Cruz sang by Ed Sheeran before violin duo Moira Delaney and Ita Fahey played , accompanied by Ludmila Burcovschi on piano.
A drumming show by a group of local Roma boys alongside Raphael Dziubinski was followed later by local teenager Magda Manke singing by Evanessence.
The local Syrian community meanwhile was well represented by noted keyboard player and pianist Ali Sakkar who treated the crowd to . He was followed by Hazel Nolan singing .
South Asian act Inderjeet performed a Bollywood dance routine before Jessica Klein performed Nocturne op.54 no.4 by Edvard Grieg followed by Abbie Flatley playing from .
Among the various pieces performed by the Ukrainian community Claremorris (and Dance City school) were and . Claremorris-based Anna Derkach performed waltz while was performed by Olena Nimchuk and Anatolij Nimchuk, also of the Claremorris Ukrainian community.
The concert closed with performed by Le Cáirde group: Breege Keogh Kenny, Yuliia Makarchuk, Angie Seamróg (Kastler), Magda Manke, Oliver Jordan, Mac Dimayuga, John Dave Halasan, Evelyn O’Connor, Andrei Chiujdea, Elizabeth Burcovschi, Victoria Burcovschi, Ludmila Burcovschi.
Centre Stage was sponsored by the Government’s Communities Integration Fund in a grant to Ballyhaunis Community Council.
Congratulations to Michael Finnegan, Lissaniskea, winner of €530 on an envelope sold in Delaney’s in the Ballyhaunis GAA 50/50 draw on November 5. The next draw is in The Corner Bar on November 12th.
