Ballina Sensory Garden Opens at Tom Ruane Park as Community Groups Celebrate Years of Collaborative Work
A new sensory garden has been officially opened at Tom Ruane Park on the Sligo Road in Ballina, County Mayo, by Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary, marking the culmination of years of collaborative effort by local community organisations and delivering a therapeutic outdoor space designed to serve people with sensory needs, disabilities, and health conditions across the north Mayo region.
Background
The idea for a sensory garden in Ballina first took shape in 2021, when a coalition of local organisations identified a gap in the town's community infrastructure. While Ballina had a range of recreational facilities, there was no dedicated outdoor space designed to meet the needs of people with sensory processing differences, physical disabilities, or conditions such as dementia and autism. The FLOW Community Project, Western Care, and Ballina Community Clean-up came together to develop a proposal, securing an initial €65,000 in funding in 2021 to begin the planning process.
The project was subsequently awarded €54,570 through the Community Recognition Fund 2024, which provided the resources needed to complete the construction phase. The Community Recognition Fund, administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development, is designed to support community-led projects that deliver tangible benefits to local areas, with a particular emphasis on inclusion and accessibility. The Ballina sensory garden was among hundreds of projects funded through the scheme in 2024 and 2025.
The choice of Tom Ruane Park as the location for the garden was made during the planning phase in 2021, with the site selected for its accessibility, its central location within the town, and its existing green infrastructure. The park, which is maintained by Mayo County Council, provided a natural setting for a facility designed to connect people with the natural environment in a structured and supportive way.
Key Developments
The completed garden features a range of sensory elements designed to stimulate different senses in ways that are calming, engaging, and therapeutic. Flower beds planted with fragrant and tactile species provide olfactory and touch experiences, while a water feature creates gentle auditory stimulation. A tarmac walkway runs through the garden, ensuring that the space is fully accessible to wheelchair users and people with mobility aids. Seating areas are positioned throughout to allow visitors to rest and take in the surroundings at their own pace.
Minister Calleary, who performed the official opening on Friday, praised the "trojan work" of the community organisations involved in bringing the project to fruition. "This garden is a testament to what communities can achieve when they work together with a shared vision," he said. "It will make a real difference to the lives of people in Ballina and across north Mayo who need a space like this." Representatives from FLOW Community Project, Western Care, and Ballina Community Clean-up were present at the opening, along with local elected representatives and families who will use the facility.
Why It Matters
Sensory gardens occupy a distinctive niche in community infrastructure. Unlike conventional parks, which are designed primarily for active recreation, sensory gardens are therapeutic environments that can benefit a wide range of users — from children with autism spectrum conditions who find conventional playgrounds overwhelming, to older adults with dementia who benefit from structured engagement with natural stimuli, to people recovering from acquired brain injuries who are rebuilding their sensory processing capabilities. The evidence base for the therapeutic benefits of such spaces has grown substantially over the past decade, and their inclusion in community planning is increasingly recognised as a marker of an inclusive and forward-thinking local authority.
For Ballina, the garden also represents a statement about the kind of town the community wants to be. North Mayo has faced significant demographic challenges in recent decades, with emigration and an ageing population creating pressures on services and community cohesion. Projects like the sensory garden — community-led, locally funded, and designed to serve the most vulnerable — are precisely the kind of investment that builds social capital and signals that a community values all of its members, not just the most visible or vocal.
Local Impact
Western Care, one of the lead organisations behind the project, provides services to people with intellectual disabilities across Mayo, and its involvement in the sensory garden reflects a broader commitment to creating community spaces that are genuinely accessible to the people it supports. The organisation has indicated that it will work with service users to develop structured programmes around the garden, including guided sensory walks and therapeutic horticulture sessions. FLOW Community Project, which works with people experiencing social exclusion in Ballina, has similarly indicated that the garden will become a resource for its programmes. For families of children with sensory needs, the opening of the garden provides a local option that previously required travel to Castlebar or Galway.
What's Next
The community organisations involved in the project are now working with Mayo County Council to develop a maintenance plan for the garden, ensuring that the planting and water feature are properly cared for through the winter months and into the spring. A programme of community events is being planned for 2027, including sensory walks, therapeutic horticulture workshops, and family days designed to introduce the garden to as wide an audience as possible. The organisations are also exploring the possibility of applying for further funding to extend the garden and add additional features, including a raised bed area for horticultural therapy and a sheltered seating area for use in wet weather.
