Ballyhaunis Béal Átha hAmhnais | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Ballyhaunis Friary | |
  Ballyhaunis Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°46′00″N8°46′00″W / 53.7667°N 8.7667°W /53.7667; -8.7667 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Mayo |
| Elevation | 89 m (292 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,773 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | M498794 |
| Website | www |
Ballyhaunis (Irish:Béal Átha hAmhnais, meaning 'ford-mouth of strife')[2][3] is a town inCounty Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of theN60 andN83National secondary roads and on therailway line linkingDublin toWestport andBallina. Ballyhaunis is within both the Roman Catholic and civil parishes of Annagh.[4]
It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary'sAugustinianFriary (popularly referred to as "the Abbey"), which was founded in 1348, according to local tradition. The town and its hinterland contain a number ofmegalithic monuments.[3]
Farming, private business and industry are the main sources of employment.[5] As of the2022 census, Ballyhaunis had a population of 2,773.[1]
On 2 August 1920, during theIrish War of Independence, theIrish Republican Army (IRA) ambushed a British Army lorry on theClaremorris road from Ballyhaunis, seizing weapons and ammunition.[6] The spot of the ambush, known as theHolywell Ambush, is marked by a high cross.[citation needed]
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 theBlack and Tans 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.[7] 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.[citation needed]
In 1999, Ballyhaunis was one of several locations in theEuropean Union selected to trial a local currency project, known as the ROMA, designed to develop the local economy and ease the transition to theeuro.[8]
According toMayo County Council, four buildings in the town are protected under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000.[9] Theseprotected structures include:
According to the2016 census, Ballyhaunis had a population of 2,366.[10] This had increased to 2,773 by the time of the 2022 census.[1]
As of the 2011 census, non-Irish nationals made up 42% of the population,[11] which was much higher than the national average and the highest of any town in Ireland.[12]Poles andPakistanis made up the largest groups of immigrants.[11] As of 2015, ethnic Irish people made up approximately 40% of the population.[13][14]
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).[10] There are twoRoman Catholicchurches 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.[15] Ballyhaunis is home to Ireland's first purpose-builtmosque, the first mosque in Ireland outsideDublin.
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.[citation needed]
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.[16][17]
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.[18] Ballyhaunis Community School, as was the case with a lot ofcommunity 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.[19]
The town is connected byExpressway bus route 64 which serves Galway and Derry via Sligo.[20]
The area is served byBallyhaunis 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 localAnnagh Magazine in 2011.[16][21]
Ballyhaunis GAA is the main sporting team in the town, fielding teams in bothGaelic football andhurling. Other sports played in Ballyhaunis includerugby,boxing,cricket, andsoccer, 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.[citation needed]
Ballyhaunis istwinned with:
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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