In 1960, Leo Diamond, a native of Ballina who had moved to Kiltimagh, purchased a furniture showroom on Main Street and
in the process changed the history of the town forever. Feeling that the town needed a modern dance venue, he converted the showroom into
the Diamond Ballroom. The ballroom opened on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1961 to the sounds of Pete Brown and his band. Because
of the ballroom's location in the heart of town, it would have a history unlike most of the ballrooms built on the edges of towns or
in the middle of nowhere. Sadly, Leo would not bring the ballroom to the success he wanted and only three years later, he closed the hall for
dancing, although it continued to host bingo sessions and other functions (and the very occasional dance). A couple of years later, the Associated
Ballrooms Group took over the premises and re-christened it the Montrose Ballroom, promising all the top names in bands. It opened
on November 1, 1966 with Dermot O'Brien and the Clubmen. Following several more years of success, in early 1969, the ballroom was bought
by three local businessmen and renamed once again, this time to the Crystal Ballroom. The ballroom was spruced up again with new paint
and lighting and re-opened (yet again) on Wednesday, April 9th, 1969 with Big Tom and the Mainliners. This set the ballroom on another
successful life in the late 1960's and early 1970's. For most of the next 15 years, things went well for the Crystal, although in the early
1980's (as the era of the disco came to the fore) crowds dwindled. From 1985 to 1995, the ballroom was used mainly for GAA bingo nights,
as well as the odd big ticket event. In 1993, the Crystal was up for sale and in 1995 it closed its doors once again as a ballroom
and was bought by the Walsh family. The ballroom was rebranded yet again as the N17 club and it re-opened on March 8th, 1996 (see below).
In 2000, the ballroom was once again sold, this time to local man James Mooney who was in his a mid-20's. In 2006, the ballroom
was for sale once again. Based on the photo below, it looks like the ballroom remains empty. Located in the heart of the town,
it is difficult to leave idle or to demolish so hopefully, someone will take up the mantle of the Diamond Ballroom yet again.
Leo Diamond sadly passed away in 1994,