Help shape the future of Friarsground, Ballyhaunis!
Join us at the Friary for some Heritage week events to celebrate exciting projects underway at the Friary grounds! Ballyhaunis Abbey Trust and Mayo County Council have secured Heritage Council and TVRS funding to provide a Masterplan for the Friary Site and a feasibility report for the Scouts Den site.
As part of this work, we are hosting some special events during Heritage week!
Hands-on History Children’s Workshop – Making Medieval Ring Brooches!
This event is part of a project supported under the Heritage Council’s and Creative Ireland grants programme
Date: Monday 17th August 2026
Workshop 1 : 10:30am -11:00am (3-8 yr olds)
Workshop 2 : 2pm -2:30pm (7-13 yr olds)
Location: St Marys Abbey Church, Friarsground (Abbey Street), Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, F23 F448
Cost: Free! But booking essential
Join Scéal Heritage to get hands-on with the past and create a medieval ring brooch, a common piece of jewellery worn by men, women, and children back in the Middle Ages! Learn about the medieval Anglo-Norman past of Ballyhaunis, find out about styles in jewellery and fashion in medieval times, and make your own gold or silver ring brooch and personalise it with colourful gemstones and metallic messages.
The workshop lasts approximately 30 minutes in length and is suitable for children aged 3 to 13. Two workshops are available on the day – one for younger children (aged 3 – 8) at 10.30am, and one for children aged 7 to 13 at 2pm.
Places for both workshops are limited and should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment!
Funding for this event is provided by Creative Ireland with Mayo County Council and the Heritage Council.
How to register:
RSVP: email [email protected] to book
Make sure to include: which of the two workshops you want to book for and the age/s of the child/children.
Children under 6 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
Hands-on History: Kids’ Stained-Glass Workshop!
Delivered by Scéal Heritage
This event is part of a project supported under the Heritage Council’s grants programme
Date: 21st August 2026
Workshop 1 : 10:30am -11:15am (3-8yr olds)
Workshop 2 : 2pm -2:45pm (7-12 yr olds)
Location: St Marys Abbey Church, Friarsground (Abbey Street), Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, F23 F448
Cost: Free! But booking essential
Join Scéal Heritage to learn about the history of stained glass windows
and the 15th century Augustinian Friary in Ballyhaunis, and make your own colourful version!
Two workshops are available on the day;
– one for younger children (aged 3 – 8),
-one for children aged 7 to 12.
Places for both workshops are limited and should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment!
Funding for this event is provided by Creative Ireland , Mayo County Council, Ballyhaunis Abbey Trust and the Heritage Council.
How to register:
RSVP: email [email protected] to book
Make sure to include: which of the two workshops you want to book for and the age/s of the child/children.
Children under 6 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
Hands-on History: Kids’ Stained Glass Workshop! | National Heritage Week 15th – 23rd August 2026
‘Reimagining the Scouts Den Site’ at Friarsground
This event is part of a project supported under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2025/2026
Date: 21st August 2026
Time & Location 1: 10am–1pm at Nolans Supervalu, Ballyhaunis
Time & Location 2: 11:30am–4pm outside St Marys Abbey Chapel, Ballyhaunis F23 F448
Cost: Free
They would love to hear your views, ideas and feedback on the potential changes to the site!
RSVP: Just drop in!
Can’t make it?
You can still send your feedback online by visiting our Facebook page ‘Ballyhaunis Community Consultation Hub’,
by emailing: [email protected]
Or completing the online survey, where you can view the consultation information and share your feedback online.
‘Foundations of a Friary’ (One day Symposium)
This event is part of a project supported under the Heritage Council’s grants programme
Date: 22nd August 2026
- Time: 9:30 -4pm
- Location: St Marys Abbey Church, Friarsground (Abbey Street), Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, F23 F448
- Cost: €20 ( Refreshments provided)
‘Foundations of a Friary’ is a one-day symposium focussing on the origins of the Augustinian Friary in Ballyhaunis,
founded circa 1400. Four lectures/presentations will be delivered by medieval historians and archaeologists
giving insights into the circumstances that gave rise to this historic foundation and its part in the story of the Augustinian friars in Ireland,
and particularly their strong presence in Connacht, through the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Speakers include:
Dr. Nollaig Ó Muraíle – ‘Ballyhaunis and Vicinity in the Middle Ages’
Colmán Ó Clabaigh OSB – ‘Ballyhaunis in Context: The Augustinian Friars in Pre-reformation Ireland’;
Dr. Yvonne McDermott – ‘The Medieval Augustinians in the West of Ireland: Architecture and Layout’;
Fr. Iggy O’Donovan OSA – ‘Fr. James Anderson OSA: Patriot Priest and Prior of Ballyhaunis 1874-79’.
There will also be a brief update on the Conservation works that are beginning on the St. Marys Abbey Friary Site from a member of the design Team on the day
How to register:
- RSVP: 0874114628 Paul waldron
- [email protected]
- Heritage week event link Ballyhaunis: Foundations of a Friary | National Heritage Week 15th – 23rd August 2026
Windows Into History Launch Exhibition – Ballyhaunis Community Hall
In addition to the above events at the Ballyhaunis Friary, the Ballyhaunis Genealogy and Heritage Group invites you to Ballyhaunis Community Hall for the launch of Windows Into History Launch Exhibition, a Creative Communities Project supported by Mayo County Council in association with Creative Ireland.
Members of the Genealogy and Heritage Group who meet every fortnight at the Ballyhaunis Community Hall have spent the last few months researching rural shops in places like Tulrahan, Brickens, Kiltybo, Duffy’s Cross and more. Come and revisit memories of these shops and hear oral histories of a time before department stores, retail parks and online shopping!
Film
Photo display
Memorability exhibition
Date: Friday, August 21, 2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Ballyhaunis Community Hall.
All welcome to this free event.
For more details please email [email protected]