What's going on in your community?
Westport Warriors basketball open for registration
Player registration is now open for Westport Warriors Basketball club. To register please log onto the Westport Warriors Basketball website westportwarriors.ie and register via the membership button and then go to eegister or alternatively click on the sign-up button on the Westport Warriors Facebook page. Training will return on October 4 2021; the different days/times for each age group will be available on the website and on the Facebook page. Players/ new players must be registered before they can resume training. If you have any queries please contact Rory Muldoon on [email protected].
Mayo Family Support courses
The Mayo Community Based Family Support team is delighted to offer the 'Parents Plus Parenting When Separated' course. This is a practical and positive evidenced-based course for parents who are preparing for, going through, or have gone through separation or divorce. This six-week course starts Tuesday, October 5 and will take place online via ZOOM from 10am to 12pm. For further information or to book a place, please contact Frances Groden on (087 ) 9974733 or [email protected].
Balla courses
A number of free community education classes will be commencing in Balla community centre over the next few weeks. For more information on these classes, contact the centre on (094 ) 9365846. Some of the courses planned include basic computer skill training, languages/ESOL, pottery, photography, grow it yourself gardening, and cooking and baking. If you have ideas or suggestions for courses, you would like to attend in Balla CRD, please get in contact. Unislim meets in Balla Community Centre on Wednesday mornings from 7am to 10am. Contact Helen at (087 ) 7402575 to get more information about joining the class.
Treats aplenty at the Linenhall
The welcome return of live events continues at the Linenhall Arts Centre, with a marvellous mix of upcoming shows and entertainment to cater for their beloved, local audiences. First to theatre! From a young age, acclaimed actor and playwright Myles Breen has been Oscar Wilde’s biggest fan. On September 29, in his new solo performance ‘A Wilde Fan’, Myles celebrates the poet, playwright and novelist by recounting the effect Wilde has had on his own work, and indeed his life. Myles delves into Oscar’s incredible life story - one that has been a constant source of inspiration and obsession. Writer and artist Sara Baume, will cover wide ground in a spellbinding audio-visual essay, ‘The Alphabet of Birds’ on October 1. It’s a show about our obsessions and passions - the multitude of rituals that fill our daily lives with meaning…. Sunday Mass and sea swimming; bird alphabets and stone collecting; Goya and Monet; the Stations of the Cross and the Sacred Heart of Jesus; bedrooms and bedsits; insomnia and parental love. On October 7, supreme harpists and husband and wife duo, Gráinne Hambly from Mayo and William Jackson, originally from Glasgow, take to the Linenhall stage. This wonderfully eclectic performance will consist of a selection of Irish and Scottish tunes, including 17th and 18th century harpers' tunes, airs, traditional dance tunes and recent compositions, which are played on two harps, bouzouki, tin whistle and concertina. These internationally recognised musicians are known for their creative and fresh arrangements of old tunes, as well as William’s newly composed pieces. They also particularly enjoy sharing fascinating background stories on the music with their audiences. The next instalment of the Linenhall Film Club, Two of Us will be screened on October 12, to sate those with an appetite for film. When Nina Dorn met Madeleine Girard on holiday in Rome, they became instantly inseparable. Decades later, they still are, sharing their lives and the landing between their two apartments. After more than twenty years of loving in the shadows, Madeleine promises Nina she will tell her family about their life together. Though certain of her love for Nina, Madeleine struggles with the prospect of “coming out”. When an unexpected, life-altering event turns their world upside down, Madeleine's daughter unwittingly begins to unravel their truth. Featuring a trio of powerhouse performances from Barbara Sukowa (Hannah Arendt ), Léa Drucker (Custody ) and Martine Chevallier (of the Comédie Française ), Filippo Meneghetti's 'Two of Us' is an unbridled celebration of a love that knows no bounds - and the unshakeable fervour of the female spirit. From a visual arts perspective, ‘Ping Pong’ remains exhibited in the newly refurbished Linenhall gallery until October 16. Catch it while you still can. This body of paintings created by Irish artist, Sarah Wren Wilson, examines the process of abstraction through a transition of narratives. Visually, the paintings present a paradoxical riddle, on one hand, planned and ordered while on the other, unpredictable and precarious. For further information of ‘What’s On’ at the Linenhall, see www.thelinenhall.com and recent content can be viewed on their YouTube channel www.youtube.com/c/LinenhallArtsCentreCastlebar/videos
Bingo in Balla
This Sunday, September 26, Balla Bingo Online is offering €9,000. If you would like to attend the drive-in bingo contact (087 ) 0975802. To order your books go to: www.balla.ie before noon on Sunday to be in with a chance of winning some cash. Friends and Family from anywhere in the world can join Balla Bingo Online. Proceeds from the community bingo are reinvested in projects to benefit the community in Balla.
Old Irish Goat visitor centre official opened
Visitors to a new visitor centre in Mulranny on the Wild Atlantic Way, can experience the iconic story of the Old Irish Goat through the ages, learn about the conservation work of the Old Irish Goat Society and engage with the charismatic goats. Tourists can also browse unique handmade gifts, produced by 20 Mayo crafters and artists, in the Gift of Hands craft shop. A Christmas shop opens at the centre during December. The centre provides community meeting and office space to deliver on community objectives, from saving Old Irish Goats to delivering on climate action. The centre marks the culmination of over a decade of work since the former garda barracks was licenced for use to the community by the OPW in 2014. Michael Ring TD, who has been a staunch advocate for the Old Irish Goat project, was on hand to officially open the centre recently. The centre is the operational base for the Old Irish Goat Society, which also recently launched the ground-breaking Old Irish Goats for Howth Project. The Society is also running a proof-of-concept trial, using Old Irish Goats and the Norwegian No-Fence system, to tackle Gunnera Tinctoria, which is a highly invasive species affecting the west of Ireland. The Society has developed the Old Irish Goat Sanctuary on 4.5 acres in Mulranny to achieve national breed recognition with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to further safeguard the breed. These projects have been made possible by a dedicated team of volunteers, who captured, domesticated, tamed down, bred and trained up the Old Irish Goat over the last decade, 2011 to 2021.
Work spaces available in Balla
Do you need a confidential meeting space with access to secure and high-speed broadband? Balla CRD is available for bookings for private workspaces / meeting rooms with reliable internet access, and offers very competitive rates and are available to discuss your requirements. They also have a fully equipped, HACCP approved commercial kitchen for hire. Get in touch on (094 ) 9365846.
Balla weanling sale report
The weanling sale held on September 21 had 380 bulls and 150 heifers. There was practically a full clearance with plenty of buying for all types around the ring and online with prices up by just over €120 euro a head in a few weeks. Light Bull weanlings 200kg to 350kg averaged 2.86 per kg. There was a lot of these 300kg+ quality lots that were well done making over the 3.00 per kg. Bulls 350kg to 450kg averaged 2.68 per kg. While 450kg+ averaged 2.42 per kg. One Lim bull born January ’21 weighing 470kg made €1,250.00 euro sold by a farmer from Moylough – Tubbercurry and a heavier 575kg LMX Bull made €1,330.00 sold by a farmer from Roonagh – Westport, There was just over 150 heifers weanlings and those up to 350 kg averaged 2.96 euro per kg. Heifer weanlings 350kg to 450kg averaged 2.65 per kg. The best a 320kg LMX born Mar ‘21 that made €1,460.00 sold by a farmer from Aughamore - Ballyhaunis. The next sale of weanlings will be on Tuesday, September 28.
