“Isn’t this class!” - a place for everyone as Ballina’s Sensory Park opens

“It doesn't matter what capability you have, you can engage with the park,” said Pádraig O'Hora of Flow Community Group. For people with sensory needs, the park is a gamechanger.

By Jack Good Published 30th Sep 2026, 14:00 BST “It doesn't matter what capability you have, you can engage with the park,” said Pádraig O'Hora of Flow Community Group. For people with sensory needs, the park is a gamechanger. Six years in the making, the Ballina Sensory Park was officially opened on Friday last in Tom Ruane Park. Beside the town's main playground, the new space is designed around one idea: that a public park should work for everyone who walks into it.

ACT Architect Kevin Loftus, who designed the park, explained that the project's direction became clear early on. “We very quickly understood that inclusion was going to be the main driver of the sensory park,” he said. That meant inclusion for neurodivergent and neurotypical people alike, and for people of every background and ability. It also meant the park had to be in a public space that was accessible to all.

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Inclusivity is at the heart of a new sensory park in Ballina The location beside the main playground was crucial. “Families very often struggle finding spaces that can meet both needs,” Mr Loftus said. “So having this beside the main play park in Ballina was a really important strategic move.”

Among those at the opening were Rory Christie and his wife Shelly, who came with their four children. Rory told The Mayo News the opening was “a big boost to the town.”

“This shows how this country is pushing forward with sensory parks,” he said. “They're open up all around the country. It's great. A town park can be very overwhelming for some kids with a lot of hustle and bustle.”

The sensory park, he explained, has a lovely, open, wide space that suits children who need a bit of room and a bit of time.

That is especially true for his son Jack, who has Down Syndrome and turns seven next month. Jack is not a fan of big, loud noises. He had already visited a few days earlier, when the park first opened to the public, and Rory said he loved it compared with the busier side.

The park helps Jack regulate himself, his father said. “He just belt away on his own. It's not too busy... and he can regulate himself, and then he's nice and calm after.”

Mr Loftus said moments like that are what the project is about. “Coming here in the morning, watching people use it as part of their daily routine, or in the evening families gathering and children playing, that's what it's all about really,” he said.

For former Mayo GAA footballer O'Hora, the aim is to engage the senses and make that engagement accessible. “Anybody here with a physical disability or in a wheelchair can access this park the exact same way anybody else can, and that's really important,” he said. There is a wheelchair swing at the very end of the park, and musical equipment sits to one side, alongside what he called “a load of interactive play pieces.” The wheelchair swing was, in essence, why he and Ryan Cawley first got involved. “It's just lovely to see it come to fruition and actually work,” he said.

Beyond social inclusion, the park has environmental aims. Pollinator planting provides habitats and nutrients for bees and insects. Rain gardens filter water before it flows into the River Moy.

The design also follows circular economy principles, reusing timber from Storm Éowyn, construction rubble and old town paving stones.

The park includes practical supports for people who may struggle to express themselves. Annette Kenny of Ballina Autism Friendly Town said a communication board, funded through the HSE as part of the committee's work, was donated to the park. It uses different symbols that non-speaking people can point to in order to explain their feelings or wants.

Elisha Beattie, Chair of Ballina Autism Friendly Town, explained the thinking behind it. “Often we find that autistic people may get overwhelmed and not be able to communicate their needs,” she said. “So we're providing tools for them to use within the park just to make sure that it's accessible for all."

Avril Grehan of Mayo DPO said the park offers something for everybody. “Whether you're going to play on the playground side or come to the sensory area, there's a lot on offer for all impairments, hidden disabilities, physical disabilities. Everybody's welcome,” she said. “What a great day! Community came together. What a legacy.”

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The project received €54,570 under the Community Recognition Fund 2024. Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, officially opened the garden in his hometown.

Community fundraising was also central - most notably the The Freeze 4 February campaign in 2021. Cllr Annie May Reape and other local councillors also put GMA funding towards the project.

The money was not always easy to find, according to David O'Malley of Ballina Clean Up Committee. “In February this year, we were looking into an abyss with a lot of money to find phone books, black books, begging books,” he said. “We're all raiders, but bit by bit the bloom thrived.”

Alan Rowe, one of the thirty local sponsors of the project, kept it simple. “It's a wonderful addition to the town and long may it continue.”

Mr Calleary called the finished park a tribute to the town. “This is a super tribute to the town, and it's a super tribute to that great concept of Meitheal of people coming together in common purpose,” he said. “This is the best of what Ballina is. The Sensory Park will be a magnet for people across the region.”

Several people were singled out on the day. Project manager Martin Devaney of the Ballina Clean Up Committee drew particular praise. “Martin Devaney's been here 5 o'clock in the morning throughout the last couple of summers planting, along with people from the community cleanup from Flow, quietly getting on with it, getting the planting right, getting the pots right,” Mr Calleary told the crowd. Mr O'Malley described him as the “driving force and humble hero of the project.”

The late Paddy O'Hora was remembered too. Mr O'Malley also paid tribute to Paddy's daughter Linda, to Sarah Ellis, and to Jack O'Hora, whose dad walked the whole of County Mayo to leave a legacy to the park. “If you're eagle-eyed enough, there's a couple of nods to their memory,” Mr O'Malley said. “But more pertinently, their legacy will be the marrow far beyond the soil.”

O'Malley noted that if Paddy was at the opening, he would likely have exclaimed “Isn't this class!”

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Senator Mark Duffy said the afternoon was the culmination of years of work, which began with activism from parents and members of the local community, through fundraising and working alongside him in Mayo County Council. He said the park makes the town park of Ballina “more inclusive, more accessible and sensory friendly” and can be enjoyed by young and old.

Former Minister of State for Disability, Senator Anne Rabbitte, who has provided funding for sensory parks across the country, said she had kept a copy of the Ballina park's design for Portumna, which has seven acres of a town dump, and Ballina gave her fresh inspiration. “It just shows you what you can do,” she told The Mayo News.

Mr Loftus said projects like this carry a wider message. “I think projects like this are very important to show that where leadership is missing, communities are starting to take a stand and move towards that,” he said.

Anna Connor, Head of the Ballina MD with Mayo County Council said she expects the park to draw visitors. “I think there'll be a lot of people coming from the region and the country to experience what we have here in Ballina,” she said.

“Other counties will be looking at what we have here and try to replicate it or do better, but they have a long way to catch up,” the Mayo County Council official said.