Ballyhaunis

Ballyhaunis is a busy industrial and commercial town, 17 km north-east of Claremorris. An Augustinian friary was founded in Ballyhaunis c. 1419 by one of the local Costello lords. It was damaged in 1608 and attacked by Cromwellian soldiers in 1649, but continued to be used as a place of worship although in a ruinous condition. Restoration work started in 1830 and continued at intervals for nearly a century. This friary, which ranks after Ballintubber as the second oldest place of worship in County Mayo, was the nucleus around which the town developed. There are five beautiful single light windows by the eminent artist, Michael Healy, in the Convent of Mercy Chapel.

Ballyhaunis Map