Ballyhaunis

According to Mayo County Council, four buildings in the town are protected under Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000.^[9] These protected structures include:

• St Patrick's Parish Church (a Roman Catholic church).
• The former St Joseph's Convent.
• St. Mary's Augustinian Friary.
• The Ulster Bank.

According to the 2016 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 and Pakistanis 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 two Roman Catholic churches 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-built mosque, the first mosque in Ireland outside Dublin.

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 of community 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]

Ballyhaunis GAA is the main sporting team in the town, fielding teams in both Gaelic football and hurling. Other sports played in Ballyhaunis include rugby, boxing, cricket, and soccer, 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 is twinned with

• Guilers, France (1984)^[22]
• Faisalabad, Pakistan (1989)

• J. J. Cribbin – Gaelic footballer.^[23]
• Charles Dillon – buried in the Friary with many of his ancestors. The Dillon family were Normans who developed the town from the 1200s.
• Seán Flanagan – Gaelic footballer, politician and government Minister.
• Jim Higgins – Senator, TD and Member of the European Parliament.
• Keith Higgins – full back on the senior Mayo football team.
• Anthony Jordan – author and biographer.
• Bill Naughton – playwright; wrote Alfie (1963), the basis of two film adaptations.
• Pamela Uba, Miss Ireland contest winner in 2021.^[24]