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Local Society

Refugees protest against move to Ballina

Residents of the direct provision centre in Ballyhaunis say they fear being moved to a hotel in Ballina which has been the focus of local protests over its conversion into an international protection accommodation service (IPAS) centre. Rispa Mwangi, a Kenyan national living seven years in the Ballyhaunis centre, said she is afraid of protests […]

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Local Society

New arrivals are keen to showcase their talents

The Community Hall in Ballyhaunis was brimming recently with talent to celebrate International Women’s Day. On the stage, Ukrainian dance troupe, Romanian classical guitarist playing lead, a Filipino adding rhythm and vocals alongside a German soprano. A Lithuanian singer Aretha Franklin’s “You Make Me Feel Like a Woman”. The acts are introduced by the hostess, […]

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Local

Tour of bog reveals fragile ecosystem

Patches of sitka spruce which intermittently line the road winding north from Ballyhaunis in the Ballaghadreen direction are evergreen clues to the recent decades of rural economics and policy making which encouraged the planting of peatlands with fast growing coniferous trees. The prevailing thought was timber harvesting offered a means to exploit otherwise idle, un-exploitable […]

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Economy Local Society

Migrant workers are key to economic growth of our region

One of the more striking data sets in the recent national census concerned Ballyhaunis. The town was shown to have one of the fastest growing populations in the Western region according to the 2022 census which shows the town’s population rose 14.3 percent –adding 438 people, to 3,495 – between 2016 and 2022. By contrast […]