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Ballyhaunis () is a town in
County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83
National secondary road A national secondary road () is a category of road in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national primary roads. Nat ...
s and on the railway line linking
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to Westport and Ballina. Ballyhaunis is within both the Roman Catholic and civil parishes of Annagh. It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augustinian
Friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...
(popularly referred to as "the Abbey"), which was founded in 1348, according to local tradition. The town and its hinterland contain a number of
megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
monuments. Farming, private business and industry are the main sources of employment. As of the 2022 census, Ballyhaunis had a population of 2,773.


History


War of Independence

On 2 August 1920, during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
, the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) ambushed a British Army lorry on the Claremorris road from Ballyhaunis, seizing weapons and ammunition. The spot of the ambush, known as the Holywell Ambush, is marked by a high cross. On 1 April 1921, Sean Corcoran, O/C of the IRA's East Mayo Brigade, was shot dead by British soldiers after a short gunfight at Crossard crossroads (6 km north of Ballyhaunis). A cross marks the spot where Corcoran died. Later that same day, a member of the
Black and Tans The Black and Tans () were constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence. Recruitment began in Great Britain in January 1920, and about 10,000 men enlisted during the conflic ...
was killed by the IRA in the town. In retaliation, the Black and Tans executed Michael Coen, a local man who was an IRA volunteer. Coen is believed not to have taken part in any of the preceding incidents. A monument to Coen was placed on the Cloonfad/Galway road from Ballyhaunis. In May 1921, Patrick Boland, captain of the Corssard Coy, IRA, was killed by crown forces.


1990s

In 1999, Ballyhaunis was one of several locations in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
selected to trial a local currency project, known as the ROMA, designed to develop the local economy and ease the transition to the
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
.


Protected buildings

According to Mayo County Council, four buildings in the town are protected under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000. These protected structures include: * St Patrick's Parish Church (a Roman Catholic church). * The former St Joseph's Convent. * St. Mary's Augustinian Friary. * The Ulster Bank.


Demographics

According to the 2016 census, Ballyhaunis had a population of 2,366. This had increased to 2,773 by the time of the 2022 census. As of the 2011 census, non-Irish nationals made up 42% of the population, which was much higher than the national average and the highest of any town in Ireland.
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
and
Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
s made up the largest groups of immigrants. As of 2015, ethnic Irish people made up approximately 40% of the population. In terms of religion, the 2016 census indicated that Catholicism was the most common religion (with 1,410 of 2,366 indicating that they were Catholic). There are two
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
es in the town. It also has one of the highest proportions of Muslims in Ireland, representing approximately 23% of the town's population as of the 2016 census. Ballyhaunis is home to Ireland's first purpose-built
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
, the first mosque in Ireland outside
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
.


Media

MidWest Radio is based at Ballyhaunis, and is a local radio station for Counties Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim. Ballyhaunis also has a dedicated internet radio station, Midwest Irish Radio. ''Annagh Magazine'' is an annual publication that appears each December, containing material of local interest. It was established by Ballyhaunis Junior Chamber in 1977, and named after the local parish. The first edition was published at Christmas 1978. It includes articles about local events over the past year, as well as contributions covering Ballyhaunis history and culture.


Education

The town has a single primary school and secondary school; the co-educational primary school was formed by the merging of the town's original two primary schools, St Mary's Boys' National School and St Joseph's Girls' National School, to form Scoil Iosa National School. Ballyhaunis Community School, as was the case with a lot of community schools, was based on the merging of three schools that previously existed independently, St. Joseph's Convent Secondary School, Ballyhaunis Vocational School, and St. Patrick's College; the school first opened in September 1977.


Transport


Bus

The town is connected by Expressway bus route 64 which serves Galway and Derry via Sligo.


Rail

The area is served by Ballyhaunis railway station, a station on the Dublin–Westport rail service. The station opened on 1 October 1861, and its 150th anniversary was celebrated by a Ballyhaunis Railway Station-themed edition of the local ''Annagh Magazine'' in 2011.


Sports

Ballyhaunis GAA is the main sporting team in the town, fielding teams in both
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
and
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
. Other sports played in Ballyhaunis include rugby,
boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, and the town has three GAA pitches, two football pitches, two rugby pitches, a football astro pitch, a football and basketball court and a cricket training pitch.


Twin towns

Ballyhaunis is twinned with * Guilers,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
(1984) *
Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
(1989)


People

* J. J. Cribbin
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
er. * Charles Dillon – buried in the Friary with many of his ancestors. The Dillon family were Normans who developed the town from the 1200s. *
Seán Flanagan Seán Flanagan (26 January 1922 – 5 February 1993) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer who served as Minister for Health from 1966 to 1969, Minister for Lands from 1969 to 1973 and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minis ...
– Gaelic footballer, politician and government Minister. * Jim Higgins
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, TD and
Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...
. * Keith Higgins – full back on the senior Mayo football team. * Anthony Jordan – author and biographer. *
Bill Naughton William John Francis Naughton (12 June 1910 – 9 January 1992) was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play '' Alfie''. Early life Born into relative poverty in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland, he moved to ...
– playwright; wrote '' Alfie'' (1963), the basis of two film adaptations. * Pamela Uba, Miss Ireland contest winner in 2021.


References


External links


Ballyhaunis entry at the Mayo Ireland website

''Annagh Magazine''
— Local community, cultural, and historical magazine.
Ballyhaunis Chamber
— Local business representative organisation.
Ballyhaunis Community Website

Irish Rail Ballyhaunis Station Website
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Mayo