Local Notes: 'Saturday Night Live' host talks about Ballyhaunis roots
The proceeds of a recent benefit concert for Down Syndrome Mayo are presented by Breege Keogh to Deirdre O'Malley from Down Syndrome Mayo. Also in the photo are Tzyy Wang, Bernie Muldowney and Kay Curley from Ballyhaunis Community Council.
A Ballyhaunis great-grandmother featured in the chat between American actor and comedian John Mulaney and host Tommy Tiernan on the latter’s RTÉ show recently.
Mulaney, who has appeared in and hosted the popular NBC show explained how his maternal great-grandparents were Republican congressman George J. Bates, a Republican mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, and his wife Nora Jennings, who moved to the United States from Ballyhaunis.
Nora Jennings appears to have come from Logboy: her story is told in an early edition of the magazine in an article written by Jim Lundon based on his conversation with a Mike Jennings in Logboy who was born in 1904.
Jim’s article describes how Nora Jennings and her husband, Congressman Bates, visited Logboy in 1947.
Anyone who’d like to share details about Nora Jennings is welcome to contact this page.
A special film made by Western Care will be shown at the Community Hall at noon on April 21st. is a 25-minute documentary made by a group of people who receive services from the Ballyhaunis facilities of Western Care, a charity with care centres across the county.
“The film is a series of short scenes which show people how to use technology in everyday life. It will show, for example, how to make a video or take a photo,” explained Carmel Brady, an advocacy coordinator at Western Care.
Funded by Southwest Mayo Development Company (SWMDC) through its Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, the film promotes digital inclusiveness for everyone. It was made with Lorraine Stack, a drama facilitator, and Tommy Murphy from Team Lens who did all the filming at Turlough House near Castlebar.
According to SWMDC “this project was developed in response to ongoing challenges faced by people with disabilities in advocating for themselves, participating in community life, and having their voices heard in decision-making processes".
“The initiative aimed to build advocacy capacity, promote inclusion, and support systemic change through targeted interventions with emphasis on the place that technology can play in their lives and their wish to be represented and indeed listened to.”
Everyone is welcome to watch the film at the Community Hall.
A fast growing and innovative agri-fertiliser business is investing in Brickens.
Evergreenfields, which produces organic-based fertilisers, is seeking planning permission for the roofing of a silage slab as a storage area on land it purchased in the Ballybaun townland of Brickens.
The Dunmore-based company, which counts Uisce Éireann and Dawn Meats among its clients, distributes its organic fertiliser products to farmers nationwide, which are a more affordable alternative to conventional chemical-based fertilisers at a time when bag manure prices are soaring due to conflict in the Middle East.
The farm in Ballybaun was previously owned by the Concannon family who ran a successful supermarket business in New York before retiring to their homeplace. The passing last year of Tom Concannon, who ran Morley’s supermarkets in Yonkers, was reported in this page.
A new barrier is set to be installed at the railway bridge in Ballyhaunis after the pedestrian path under the bridge was rebuilt in recent weeks.
The work is being done for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) by Lagan Operations and Maintenance (Lagan O&M), a specialist contractor that installs and maintains safety barriers and bridge parapets on major road networks across Ireland under contract with TII.
There was great pride locally as Ciara Davis from Granlahan, Sarah Ryan from Ballinlough and Amy Fitzmaurice from Logboy participated in the CLRG World Irish Dancing Championships in Schaumburg, Chicago over Easter. Their teacher Mary Elwood explains:
“Qualifying for the World Championships is a remarkable achievement, and the girls competed with distinction against top dancers from Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa, mainland Europe and Australia. Ciara (U16) enjoyed particular success, dancing her way to the final round and returning home with a well-deserved medal.
"While the competition was the highlight, the trip also gave the dancers an opportunity to experience some of Chicago’s famous sights and cuisine, making it a memorable occasion both on and off the stage."
All three girls train with the Elwood School of Dancing in Ballyhaunis, where their achievements are a source of immense pride and an inspiration to younger dancers. They are also students at Ballyhaunis Community School.
Ballyhaunis mosque is set for major refurbishment this summer.
The first purpose-built mosque in Ireland, the building was completed in the 1980s and will go under a significant renovation this summer, according to two members of the congregation who told this page that the building work will be paid for by a collection among the local congregation.
Built by Pakistani industrialist Sher Rafique, Ballyhaunis mosque has seen its congregation expand in recent years with the growth of the local Muslim population.
London-based filmmaker and lawyer Liam McNeive has been in the Brickens area researching a film having received acclaim for two earlier short films on the exploits of his grandfather during the national struggle for independence.
Liam’s latest film follows up on a 2016 animated short film called , which featured the story of his grandfather Willie McNeive from Brickens who fought in the Easter Rising in Dublin as a 19-year-old before being imprisoned in Wales.
The film was shown in 2016 at the National Theatre in London as part of a BBC Learning project with the animated film story of Willie McNeive voiced by Irish actor and star Liam Cunningham.
Liam told this column he hopes to be back in the area later this year to show an edited version of his latest film project which also deals with the history of the area.
A law passed in the Oireachtas last week could have a major bearing on the future direction of IPAS centres like the one in Ballyhaunis, which currently houses over 300 residents.
The International Protection Bill will implement the EU Migration Pact and mandate shorter times for dealing with asylum applications and appeals. It also legally requires asylum seekers to seek asylum in the first EU country they enter. However it remains to be seen how Ireland will implement the new legislation given there are 22,000 appeals of asylum decisions currently in the system, lengthening the time taken to process cases.
The operator of the IPAS centre in Ballyhaunis, Bridgestock Care, has applied for planning permission to expand the centre. However, the government minister in charge of migration, Colm Brophy, said he wants to see fewer asylum seekers and IPAS centres with the new law.
“With an improved system, I want to see a reduction in IPAS centres around Ireland and a move towards more sustainable migration in the years ahead,” he said after the Bill was passed.
Residents of the IPAS centre in Ballyhaunis say they welcome faster decision times. One IPAS resident from North Africa explained he waited over one year for an an answer to his application and is now almost two years going through an appeals process after his application was rejected.
While he’s working, he is unwilling to secure accommodation outside the IPAS centre until he is more certain of his status.
“I think I will wait until I know if I can stay before I look for a house for me and my family. I think Ireland should grant status to all those who are working and all those who don’t work they should tell them to leave.”
A popular Irish language learning programme returns on May 5th for another five-week block of lessons. The classes are run by Ballyhaunis Community Council and Ballyhaunis Language Café.
The removal of religion as a subject in primary schools is being promoted by campaigners for divestment of the Catholic Church from primary schools across the country which operate under the patronage of local bishops.
Campaigners from divestments have taken to seeking for the removal of religious education from schools after being frustrated by an absence of support from many parents at a local level, according to Alan Hynes-Cendrzak, chief executive of the Catholic Education Partnership, Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA) whose comments were shared with this page by the Catholic Communications Office, Maynooth.
“At a national level, there is broad support for divestment,” said Hynes Cendrzak. “However, support from local communities has often not been forthcoming. All too often, parents have wished to retain their local school under Catholic patronage.
“Some campaigners, frustrated by that reality, now seek another route. Having failed to persuade many local communities to change patronage, they argue that faith schools should be stripped of the ability to give full expression to their ethos.”
A survey of parents of primary school children conducted by the Department of Education has shown that 40% of parents want their children to attend a multi-denominational school. In Mayo, the figure is 33.7%.
