The Hair Gallery recently closed after almost 30 years in business. The salon was owned by Tina Kelly (also known as Tina Ward).
It was founded on Society St in the hallway of what was then Calahan Jewellery, and which is now Kariba’s. Tina started with one employee but soon decided to expand, and as a local salon, Oliver Johns, was closing, she employed two of the staff, Josie Camon and Theresa Hardigan. The Hair Gallery then moved moved to the larger premises on Dunlo St in 1997, where it was based for the next 29 years.
Tina loved her role in the salon and says “we had great fun looking after all the wonderful clients. It was a place where people gathered not just to get their hair done, but to catch up with the staff and with other clients…a hair salon is a sociable place.”
That sociability meant that life-long connections were formed through The Hair Gallery. Clients who were brought to the salon as babies returned as they grew up, and as they became mums themselves, they brought their children to the salon in turn. Tina has also trained and assisted many stylists. Some have since left the industry, but others are now running their own salons.
As such, Tina believes hair salons have a real role to play in the community. However, she notes that many have closed in recent years due to rising running costs, and the shortage of trained staff. She thinks that the long-awaited hairdressing apprenticeship qualification will make a big difference to stylist training, and to the viability of salons.
Tina grew up in Ballinasloe, daughter of Kevin and Lorrie Ward. As a teenager, she had a Saturday job with Therese Kelly at the Witches Hut, which she says gave her “a great foundation” in hairdressing. She trained at Barry’s School of Hairdressing in Galway, and then worked in Barry’s and a number of other salons in Galway, including Andy’s Hair Care in Prospect Hill, where she also learnt barbering skills.
She returned to Ballinasloe in 1997 after the passing of her father, to support her mother and her brothers Joe, Liam, and Ronnie. In the following years, she met her partner, Brendan Kelly, and married. They have two sons, Nigel and Darragh, who both live in Australia.
When Tina came back, Ballinasloe was a thriving town. While businesses have closed in recent years, Tina emphasises all the positives there are in the town, with the hotels, the College of Further Education, excellent sports facilities and an array of sports clubs, as well as a thriving cultural sector and a very active retirement group. “It makes me sad when people say, ‘we have nothing in our town’; so many towns would appreciate and love what we have…I feel we need to be more proud of our town and support it more.”
Tina wants to thank all her customers for their outstanding loyal support throughout the years, and to wish Josie, the longest employee of the Hair Gallery, a happy and healthy retirement. One of the stylists from the Hair Gallery, Aoife McDonnell, has opened a hair studio in Celtic Hair on Main St. Tina wishes her the best of luck.
