Uprooted hairdresser Ciara has now ‘perm’ament base in Ballyheane
By Tom Gillespie
RISING rents and rates in the county town has seen hairdresser Ciara Walsh uproot her business from Castlebar’s town centre to a ‘perm’-ament salon in Ballyhane - eight kilometres away.
And since her move, Hair by Ciara has attracted a new mature clientele, who want to avoid the hassle of finding parking in a busy Chapel Street, Castlebar, where she was located.
She admitted: “Clients had to do a few laps of the town before they could secure a parking space.”
Ballintubber native Ciara was five years in business on February 18. Initially she was renting in the Hair Boutique in Chapel Street and in Halo at the same location.
“Now I have opened in Ballyheane,” she said, “where there used to be a butcher shop and beside Daybreak and the Punch Bowl pub.”
Looking back, she said: “I fell into hairdressing. I always had a knack for it. I was doing a bit at home when I was 16 and I did a PLC in Sallynoggin, Dublin, for a year.
“When I came out I worked for Sinead Cusack in Castlebar for a year or two and I worked for Sharon Ralph for four years - she was one of the best I ever worked for.
“I worked for Mona Lisa for a little bit and after six months with her I decided to got out on my own.
“I just worked my way up. I had trained under a lot of the big names in the country, Cathriona Kelly and Conor Doyle.”
Ciara admitted: “I always had a passion for hairdressing. I have two younger sisters and my mother couldn’t even hold a hairbrush never mind doing ponytails so I always had to step up and do the needful.”
At Hair by Ciara she specialises in colour highlights, styling and a lot of freelance bridal work where she travels to the bride's home. She does tape hair extensions and a lot of curly hair at the moment.
She continued: "The move to Ballyheane was about money - rent and rates. I could not do it.
“My landlord in Halo was one of the nicest guys, a hands down gentleman. But he wasn’t making money having me there. He left me there as long as he could and then he had to put up the rent. It was either stay off go for me, so I had to go.
“The beauty of Ballyheane is that clients can come straight to the door where there is plenty of free parking. On Chapel Street it was chaos. Come ten o’clock, and if there was Mass on it was Goodnight Irene. Clients would have to do a couple of laps of the town to get parking there.”
Currently Ciara, who was educated at Ballintubber National School and Colaiste Mhuire, Tourmakeady, works on Thursday and Friday, anything for 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Saturday from 7.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
She said: “I open the odd time during the week Monday to Wednesday if I am asked.
“I have Rachel Browne from Turlough working with me. She is my right hand. The place would fall apart without her, and Sophie Heneghan from Castlebar also works with me. I would be lost without them.
“The salon in Ballyheane is about half of what I had in Castlebar but it is all that I need. There would only be the three of us working there at a time so it is everything I need.
“A lot of my clients have been saying it is quicker to come out to Ballyheane and park there than it was having to do a few laps of the town to get parking in Chapel Street. When the new road opens anyone coming from Turlough or Ballyvary will bypass the town and shoot straight out to me.”
Ciara specialises mainly in blonds and colour correction - fixing bad jobs and the like.
She continued: “I didn’t have a lot an older clients but since moving to Ballyheane all the older ladies are coming to me because it is handier for them rather than having to come into town.
“I have one lady who is 87 years who I collect and drop home because she doesn’t drive. She asked where was I 20 years ago?
“She is thrilled with the service and it is a blessing for her. All she wants is do is sit there, see everyone come and go, and I leave her there as long as she wants where she has a cup of tea and a purple snack.”
Looking to the future Ciara would like to bring more services to Ballyheane. She likes going to the gym and has her hands full with her 11-year-old son, Mark John (M.J.), who is involved in Ballyheane soccer and football with Ballintubber.
* Hair by Ciara can be contacted on (085) 1721467 her on Instagram and Facebook.