Month: March 2020

Vincent Brogan: 19th Century

OPC

Meeting of Wednesday 4 March 2020
Speaker Vincent Brogan: Topic – “19th Century Omagh”

[L – R] Probus President, Michael Cooney, Vincent Brogan, Club Secretary, Alastair Orr
Vincent began by referencing a plantation map made in 1610 which clearly showed Market Street and the Road to Dublin. He recounted key events in the development of the town including the building of churches, the Courthouse and the Jail.   His first slide was a semi-comical postcard showing a horse kicking off a policeman’s helmet outside the police station where Curran’s Opticians now stands. The Pigot Directory of 1824 lists all the businesses and buildings in the town and records that coaches ran three times a week to Dublin. Members were amused to learn that in 1840 Omagh had 34 pubs for a population of 3000.

Vincent elaborated on the development of Omagh as a garrison town in the 19th century for the Royal Tyrone Fusiliers and later the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers.  The population of Tyrone fell dramatically from 1841 to 1901 but the population of Omagh town grew as people moved into the town for work. The arrival of the railways enabled people, goods and animals to be transported more easily and Vincent with the aid of postcards spoke of the development of hotels in Omagh and places of entertainment such as the Ulster Hall. He informed members that maps of old Omagh were available on the PRONI website to download free of charge.

Vincent was thanked by Probian John McCandless for a detailed and informative talk that was much appreciated by members.

Amy Burns RSPB 05.03.20

OPC

Meeting of Thursday 5th March 2020Speaker, Ms Amy Burns, RSPB

Amy Burns [left] with President Audrey Hodge
Amy is the RSPB’s Estate Manager for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. She heads up a team of seven who collectively manage the bird life on 43 of Lough Erne’s 154 islands along with 210 hectares of wetland and 400 hectares of forest.   Essentially the work is about habitat management and maintaining a variety of environments for the particular needs of particular birds.   Lapwings, also known as Plovers and Pee-wits, thrive in hay meadows. Curlews need longer grass in which to nest and hide their chicks. Sadly, their numbers are in steep decline due to habitat loss.   The RSPB owns a herd of Highland Cattle which it moves from island to island to graze and keep the vegetation short. Amy showed slides and played recordings of the calls of several species monitored by the RSPB including snipe, redshank, terns and gulls. RSPB in Fermanagh also manages 600 hectares on Cuilcagh Mountain, home to red grouse, skylarks and hen harriers.   Amy’s work brings her into daily contact with all sorts of wildlife including huge array of butterflies and moths. Her talk prompted many questions and much interest, for which she was warmly thanked by Eleanor Lyden