Jarlath, the Chairman of Ballina 2023, is an elected member of Mayo County Council and has been representing the Ballina Electoral Area since 2004.

A teacher by profession, Jarlath has been working in education and children’s services for over 20 years and is currently working for Tusla as Children and Young Peoples Services Coordinator for County Mayo.

Jarlath is passionate about Liverpool FC and likes film, books, history, sarcasm, BBC Radio 4 and daydreaming. His political hero is Garret Fitzgerald.

Jarlath dislikes people who don’t get sarcasm, being wrong and being quiet!

Declan hails from Foxford but spent a lot of his youth socialising in Ballina – Tingles and Pearls being his favoured spots to show off his dance moves – which he has not lost!

Following 11 years in Dublin studying and working and 4 years in New York working and having fun, he returned to Mayo in 1996 and has worked for Mayo County Council since 2001. He is now the Head of Ballina Municipal District.

2023 will be a special year for Ballina and for Declan who will celebrate a significant birthday during the year.

Conall, a member of Ballina Lions Club, represents the community sector on the Ballina 2023 steering group. He is a Ballina native, working as a veterinary Officer in Sligo County Council.

As a past president of Ballina Lions Club, he was delighted to get involved in Ballina 2023, but hadn’t a clue what he was letting himself in for!

Lisa Hallinan has worked in the arts, event and communications sector for many years and has a passion for connecting communities and creating magical cultural experiences – and we’re lucky to have her making magic with us for Ballina 2023.

From Enniscrone, she loves sea swimming, surfing and anything that can get her to the beach. She is a qualified rescue diver and loves to travel, though that has all been set to pause since the arrival of her most sincere passion, her three beautiful children; Lillian, Sarah and Jamie.

Lisa can now mostly be seen at her computer or roaming the beautiful Abbey at Rosserk, close to which she lives with her family and their pony Pinky.

(She/Her)

Anne-Marie returned to Ballina in 2015 after an absence of 18 years, and now spends her time trying to convince others to do the same.

She is currently on secondment to Ballina 2023 from Mayo North Tourism, where her role revolved around tourism development, and helping to raise the profile of Ballina and North Mayo at a national and international level.

Outside of work, she enjoys writing, hiking, and volunteering. She enjoys a good game of football or hurling and has shaved years from her life expectancy and thousands from her bank balance by following the fortunes of Mayo GAA around the country.

Anne-Marie once reached the final of the All-Ireland Conker Championships, but sadly failed to conker her opponent…

Tom is the Director of Services at Mayo County Council with responsibility for Housing, Roads, Service Development and the Ballina Municipal District.

Tom spends a lot of his time ensuring that Mayo, particularly Ballina, is a great place to live, work and visit. A tech guru, Tom is the instigator and founder of VacantHomes.ie, an initiative helping to bring vacant properties back into use.

A music lover, especially anything to do with drums, in 2020 he published his first book on the subject, ‘Irish Drummers Volume 1’ – eat your heart out Sally Rooney!

Philip originally hails from London, but his links with Ballina couldn’t be stronger, with his mother originally coming from Ardnaree, where a lots of his family and friends still live today. As a youngster, he spent as many school holidays as possible coming back to the freedom of Ballina and returned to the town as often as he could once he started work.

He recently returned to Ballina to live and has over 20 years’ experience working internationally in brand marketing, major events, and experiential marketing, across the UK, Europe, South America and the United States.

When he’s not working, Philip enjoys spending time with his friends and family, discovering new restaurants, walking in Belleek Woods or on the beach at Enniscrone or happily enjoying a bottle of wine (or two!).

Mags is the CEO of  Ballina Chamber, Manager of Ballina Tourist Office. She’s also a mother, a community activist and a Stephenite.

She has spent 25 years working in the hospitality and tourism sector and believes Meitheal lies at the heart of any progressive community.

She lobbies on behalf of the business community of North Mayo, advocating for policies and funding to support a balanced regional development in the West of Ireland, and supporting a greener, more sustainable future for our town centre.

As well as her four fantastic children and long-suffering husband Paul, her passions include politics, music and the GAA, not in any particular order.

Mags is Chairperson of the Ballina 2023 Youth Programme and is open to connecting with any business or individual interested in supporting this legacy programme for the young people of Ballina.

Annette Maughan is a Donegal blow-in, who has fallen in love with all things North Mayo in her 20 years of living and working here.

Originally a landscape designer/gardener by trade, Annette re-invented herself a few years back, and now works to deliver resource development projects in North Mayo through Moy Valley Resources IRD.

An avid reader, a wannabe runner and a mother of four who likes to have a go at everything her kids do, she usually ends up rolling up her sleeves and getting stuck into the dirty work – you can take the woman out of the garden but ……