Annual General Meeting, Wednesday 24th January 2024
At its Annual General Meeting in January Mr Hugh Ward stepped down as club President and Vice-President, Mr Felim O’Neill, stepped up as President for the ensuing year. Mr Alistair Orr and Mr Michael Cooney were re-elected as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Members agreed that the club should continue to meet fortnightly until the summer, but in the autumn consider reverting to pre-covid arrangements when it met every Wednesday at 10:30 AM in the Golf Club.
Wednesday, 7th February 2024: Speaker, Mr Jack Johnston
The guest speaker on Wednesday 7th February was Mr Jack Johnston from Clogher, a well-known local historian. Jack chose as his topic the history of the White Hart Hotel which was a landmark building on Market Street for nigh on 200 years. On the site where it once stood there now stands the building formerly occupied by the Post Office.
In 1797 Sir Francis Beaufort, during his survey of Ireland, noted in his journal that the White Horse Hotel was “a good place to eat”. In the years which followed it became a popular hostelry on the Stagecoach route from Derry to Dublin with stables for a change of horses. However, its place in the town was secured by the arrival of the railway and its proximity to Omagh station. Each train was met with a horse drawn carriage later, replaced by a motor taxi.
The Mullin Fountain which stood in front of the courthouse for many years was erected in 1882 in memory of Mr William Mullin who ran the White Heart from 1861 to till his death in1881, and who stablished its reputation as the best hotel in Ulster outside Belfast. Mr. Johnson enlivened his talk with newspaper cuttings from the late 19th century and early 20th century which provided fascinating insights into the life of the hotel and its place in the community back in the day.