Community Council holds its AGM

The annual general meeting of Ballyhaunis Community Council heard that the group has borrowings of €90,000 outstanding from the refurbishment of the Community Hall, which was completed three years ago.

A partnership with a philanthropic organisation meanwhile has allowed the Community Council to channel funds to the preservation of St. Mary's Abbey (the Friary) and to community programmes run at the Community Hall, explained secretary Mary Donnelly, who outlined various cultural, heritage and integration programmes run at the hall.

The tenancy of the Brazillian community's Agape Church in part of the building has helped the financial situation of the Community Council she added.

Several groups updated the meeting on activities in their specific organisation. A new defibrillator at JG Fitness gym was one of the highlights of the past year for Ballyhaunis Defibrillator Group. Paula Grogan, a representative of the group, described various fundraising activities to update and maintain the defibrillators around the town while also training new members on how to use them.

Meanwhile, work on the Biodiversity Action Plan launched by Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns has been halted due to the requirements to conduct archaeological surveys on the grounds of the Friary in Ballyhaunis after it was placed on the list managed by the National Monuments Service.

Trees planted as part of the plan was removed by Mayo County Council, which has plans to plant them in other locations in the town, according to Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns chairperson Kay Curley in a report to the meeting. She thanked Dawn Meats for sponsoring flower baskets and said the group is currently awaiting the national Tidy Towns results with hopes that the high score for Ballyhaunis in 2025 will be repeated this year.

Speaking as a member of the Abbey Trust, Paul Waldron outlined the various archaeological surveys underway in the Friary grounds which will determine if there are more items of archaeological value in the grounds that must be preserved. He also spoke of how the symposium on the history of the Friary during Heritage Week in August is expected to become an annual event.

Our officers elected:

Chairperson: Mark Godfrey

Secretary: Mary Donnelly

Assistant Secretary: Anna Doyle

Treasurer: Marie Cribbin

Assistant Treasurer: Michelle Glacken

PRO: Tzyy Wang

Board of Directors: Marlene Abdelkader, Bernie Muldowney, Alma Gallagher, Marie Cribbin, Mary Donnelly, Mark Godfrey