Historic Mayo mansion will no longer accommodate Ukrainian refugees
Ballinafad House, which accommodated over 30 beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (at one point, will revert to alternative use next month.
The 110-room property, owned by Australian Bede Tannock, has accommodated Ukrainian refugees since 2022. The historic property had been providing accommodation and operated as a venue for weddings, civil ceremonies and public gatherings.
The Department of Justice has confirmed that the property, and Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments, while revert to original or alternative use.
Eight people are affected by the discontinuation of the use of Ballinafad House while eleven were living in the Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments.
Approximately 2,400 Ukrainian refugees across the country are to be affected by the change of purpose of 30 properties.
The Department of Justice said the contracts with private accommodation providers were not being renewed partly due to a 'reduced need' for such facilities to accommodate BOTPs.
'Many people are choosing to move on from State-supported accommodation or are leaving Ireland,' the department stated. 'State accommodation contracts may also be ending where compliance issues arise, or where the owner chooses to end their contract.'
Those residing in Ballinafad House must relocate by June 6 while those in the Hotel Newport Holiday Apartments must relocate by July 4.
It is understood that many of those who had been living in Ballinafad House have now left the property.
Built near the village of Belcarra in 1827, Ballinafad House had fallen into disrepair when restoration works began there in March 2014.
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The 70,000 square foot property featured on RTE'S 'Great House Revival' and boasts 40 bedrooms, its own chapel and handball court.
The five-bay two-storey-over-raised-basement mansion was built by Maurice Blake, a former High Sheriff of County Mayo, who hailed from a well-known Catholic family who pioneered Gaelic games in the locality.
In 1908, Maurice and Anne Blake's son, Lieutenant Colonel Count Llewellyn Joseph, donated the building to the Society of African Missions (SMA).
The SMA used the building as a secondary school and minor seminary, known as The Sacred Heart College, to prepare students for missionary priesthood as more ancillary buildings were built onto the house. Over 500 priests were ordained there before the seminary closed in 1957.
The property was later purchased by Balla Mart, who used it used as an agricultural college. It closed due to a lack of funding in the mid-1970s after five years in operation. This forced 80 boarders and 120 day students to continue their education elsewhere.
Plans for a 'detention centre' and a 'multi-million-euro sports complex' at Ballinafad had been reported in The Mayo News years before Mr Tannock acquired the property for €80,000 in 2014. In 2019, Ballinafad House was placed on the market for €2 million.
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