Wednesday 4th January 2023: Speaker Rev Liz FitzGerald.
Traditionally Omagh Probus Club invites a member of the clergy to bring a New Year message to members at their first meeting in January. This year’s address was given by Rev Liz FitzGerald, daughter of Michael Pollard, a founder member of Omagh Probus and a staunch supporter of the Club throughout his retirement. Rev Liz took as her theme a quotation from Albert Einstein. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow; the important thing is to not stop questioning.”
Using photos from family life and her own ministry, Liz shared her journey for schooldays in Omagh Academy to graduation as a Physiotherapist and employment in the Health Service. Along the way she met and married a merchant seaman. Her husband, Sean FitzGerald, is well known in our community as a recently retired Captain with Stena Ferries, and active member of Omagh’s Rotary Club – of which Liz herself is a past President. Their shared interest in Rotary has seen both achieve high office, Sean is currently District [All-Ireland] President and Liz is District Secretary.
Throughout though, the Church has been central to Liz’s life and this was the focus her talk to Probus. After many years as a Lay Reader she was persuaded to candidate for Ordination in the Church of Ireland and today is a priest with four churches to look after in the parishes of Gweedore and Templecrone in County Donegal. None of this has distracted her from the other loves of her life – her family, her children and her Labradors. Describing herself as “ourdoorsey” she finds peace up hills, on the water [Lough Erne] and beside the sea.