Ballyhaunis Summer Festival is now in its 9th successive year.
It has always been the highlight of the year in the town. Over the nine years, many inovative events have been run. in the present climate it is very difficult to get funds to run a Summer Festival, but it was never more important to invigorate the community. A festival really brings a community together - it is an expression of what the town can produce when people work together.
Sun Shines on Ballyhaunis Summer Festival 2010
It was all sunshine and fun at the 2010 Ballyhaunis Summer Festival run by Ballyhaunis Chamber Of Commerce on June bank holiday weekend.
On Saturday hundreds of parents and children converged on the Friary grounds to enjoy a day of laughter and fun.
The exciting programme began with a disability “Activities For All” in the Multi Purpose Sports facility. This was followed by free pony rides, a street art competition, a treasure hunt and a Bocci demonstration in the Multi Purpose Facility.
Ballyhaunis Soccer Club then provided a demonstration which was followed by a cricket game. In the Multi Purpose Facility a Women’s 5 a side was followed by a Scoil Íosa soccer tournament. Then came the Tag Rugby Display which was followed by a Fun Cycle starting and ending at the Friary Field.
All evening three free bouncy castles provided free by Billy Nestor and manned by volunteers thrilled the throngs of children and their parents.
The sounds of summer laughter, screams of joy and loads of youthful energy filled the air in the Friary Grounds on Saturday June 5th as a good day was had by all.
Fair Day
From early morning the stalls arrived with all the fun of the fair. The wonderful crafts people got organised to show their skills. From Cork the Street Circus got into one of their many costumes. The wonderful Graune Pet Farm brought their vast array of pets into the town.
The hugely talented Mary Elwood School of Irish Dancers enthralled the crowd with their skills. Ballyhaunis All Ireland Talent Finalist 2010 Olwyn Murray got a huge response from the crowd. Her fellow finalists the Tuam All Star Gymnastics Club literally sprang to life to the amazement of the massive crowd in the square.
A reminder of gentler days saw the Ballyhaunis Vintage Car Club parade through the streets and park in the grounds of St. Patrick’s Parish Church. Nearby the sheaf tossing display drew huge crowds.
Rambling Bob was live on stage and Fubar, an up and coming Kiltimagh band kept the crowds happy musically.
On the Ballyhaunis Pub Trail Quiz nights, discos, crazy sports nights, wild west nights were the order of the day in Monsoon Night Club, The Lantern, Gills, The Hazel, Fire Disco Bar, Macs, Fitzers, Nicholsons, Delaneys, The Clock, Phillips Bar, Curleys Bar, The Corner Bar and the Oak Bar.
Summer Festival Treasure Hunt Winners
The winners of the Treasure hunt in the Friary Grounds of the Ballyhaunis Summer Festival 2010 were:
1st Aiofe Nolan and Helen Conroy
2nd Aoife Conway and Roisin Fitzmaurice
3rd Cissie Conroy and Katie Conroy
The treasure hunt was organised by Ballyhaunis Foroige Club members under the guidance of their leader Tina McGoldrick and Maggie Feeney.
Summer Festival Street Art Winners 2010
The winners of the Ballyhaunis Summer Festival Street Art competition were presented with T-Shirts with photos of their winning painting on sponsored by Fordes Drapery.
The winners and runners up were also presented with medals.
The winners were:
Infants Section: 1st Kian Burke 2nd Andrea Delaney 3rd Kyah Legg
First & Second Class section: 1st Sanan Arshad 2nd Szheeb Arshad 3rd Tommy Cleary
Third & Fourth Class section: 1st Niall Coffey 2nd Evan Fitzmaurice 3rd Lindiwe Dihamininkosi
Fifth & Sixth Class section: 1st Abi Adams 2nd Jasmine Chony 3rd Diarmuid Keane.
The street art competition was organised and run by the Ballyhaunis Foroige Club under the guidance of Tina McGoldrick & Maggie Feeny.
Shop Front Decoration Competition
There was a competition for the best shop front window display in Ballyhaunis for the Festival. The winners were:
Pub Category: 1st Gills 2nd The Hazel 3rd Curleys Pub
Retail Category: 1st Herrs 2nd Harvest Fresh 3rd The Gem
Non Retail category: 1st J.G Barbers 2nd Gavins Funeral Home
3rd The Credit Union
Live Draw for the Raffle
The Raffle was sponsored by Monoon Nightclub and Ballyhaunis Chamber. It was drawn live on Midwest Radio on Friday 4th June by Martin Fitzmaurice. The winners were:
1st prize of €300: Shiela Nolan
2nd prize of €150: Darragh Crawley
3rd prize of €100: Ian McHugh