Balla GAA 140th Anniversary Fundraising Weekend

What to Expect

Balla GAA turns 140 in 2026, and the club is marking it with a run of fundraising and community events rather than one formal function. The anniversary programme opens on Wednesday 12 August at 8pm with a special bingo night, run jointly with Balla bingo and Balla CRD, carrying a jackpot of €12,000. The money raised goes towards the club’s underage players. Balla’s weekly bingo is a fixture in the village calendar and this is the enlarged anniversary edition of it.

The main day is Saturday 15 August. It starts at 11.30am with an underage blitz at Nally Park, bringing in teams from neighbouring clubs. At 4pm a Balla GAA masters game takes over the same pitch. The action then moves to the community centre, where a screening of the club’s 2022 Lip Sync fundraiser starts at 7pm, followed from 9.30pm by live music from Concord and a DJ, with a full bar. Chairperson Dean Kenny said the milestone gives the club “an opportunity to recognise everyone who has contributed to the club over the generations”, and Balla has put out an open call to former players, members and volunteers now living elsewhere to come home for it.

Good to Know

• Anniversary bingo: Wednesday 12 August 2026 at 8pm in Balla, with a €12,000 jackpot in aid of underage players.
• Saturday 15 August: underage blitz 11.30am at Nally Park, masters game 4pm at Nally Park.
• Saturday evening: 2022 Lip Sync screening 7pm at the community centre, live music from Concord and a DJ from 9.30pm with full bar.
• The club was founded in 1886 and is inviting back former players, members and volunteers.
• Bingo book prices and any entry charge on the Saturday are set on the door.

Getting There

Balla sits on the N60 between Castlebar and Claremorris, about 12km southeast of Castlebar and 15km north of Claremorris, with the M17 and N5 both within a short drive. Nally Park and the community centre are both in the village and are a couple of minutes apart on foot, so you can park once for the day. Street and pitch parking is free. Balla is served by Bus Eireann and Local Link services running the Castlebar to Claremorris corridor.