Allure seal ‘excellence’ award
THE champagne corks were popping at Breaffy House Resort on Friday when Allure Hairdressing, Ballina and Castlebar, were crowned the inaugural winners of the first Mayo Style Awards hosted by The Connaught Telegraph.
In a colourful occasion of fashion and glamour, the overall ‘excellence in style’ accolade was presented to Martha Galvin and James Baird, the husband and wife team who run Allure, by Niamh O’Connell and Rachel Murphy of Specsavers, Castlebar, the main sponsors. Martha is a native of Ballina while James hails from Donegal. Speaking to compere Toni Bourke following the announcement, James said: “It’s a great privilege to be the first overall winners of this event, which was very well organised.
The Connaught Telegraph has done something really special and I can see the competition getting stronger and stronger in the years ahead. We are thrilled.” Earlier in the evening, Allure had been chosen as one of the 10 category winners, taking the title as Best Hair Salon. The other category winners were Don Racine, Castlebar (best fashion boutique), Kaleidoscope, Westport (best in accessories), Me-Time, Ballinrobe (best beauty salon/spa), Castle Davitt Furniture, Castlebar (best interiors), Realta Naturals, Castlebar (best new business), Balla Florists (best in bridal), Haley Coleman Make-up, Westport (best in social media), Oliver’s Menswear, Ballina (best in men’s fashion and grooming) and Westport Leisure Park (best in health and fitness).
On behalf of The Connaught Telegraph, Bernard Hughes, advertising manager, thanked everybody who helped make the event such a success, including Specsavers (main sponsors), Breaffy House Resort (host sponsors), category sponsors Turlough Hair and Beauty, Shaws Department Stores, Myles Gilvarry and Associates, Staunton’s Pharmacy, Costa Systems, Castlebar Credit Union, Motivation Weight Management, Foxford Woollen Mills and Casey’s Centra, the adjudicating panel, and his colleagues at The Connaught Telegraph and the Celtic Media Group.
He added the event is destined to become an annual fixture in the county’s social calendar as the formula was very popular and worked extremely well, with up to 300 people attending the extravaganza.