Month: March 2024

Wed. 21 Feb. 2024; Speaker, Mr Hugh Ward; Topic, The Drumnakilly Urns
The President welcomed everyone and opened the meeting by conferring Honorary Membership on Sam Bullock and Brian Duncan, because they had turned 90.  Both were congratulated on their regular attendance and their continuing loyalty to the club.  Sam and Brian were presented with Honorary Membership Certificates along with warmest best wishes for continued good health and the hopes of members that they would be long be spared to come to meetings.

 

 

In line with the decision taken at the AGM in January that the second meeting of each month should be led by one of our own members, Mr Hugh Ward stepped up to the plate with a well-researched talk about the Drumnakilly Urns. It is a topic which has long fascinated our immediate Past-President, partly on the basis of his interest in local history but mostly because he is a native of Drumnakilly. The story begins in the month of May 1870 when an urn with magnificent detail was found by a labourer trenching potatoes. The find excited considerable local interest as well as the interest of Irish archaeologists who visited the site and unearthed further examples. Their remarkable state of preservation belies their age. The style of decoration has been compared with pottery from Newgrange, an ancient monument some 5000 years old. To read the full text of Hugh’s talk click Drumnakilly Urns Text.

Wed 6 March 2024:  Speaker Mr Vincent Brogan from Omagh Heritage Forum

The guest speaker on Wednesday 6th March was Mr Vincent Brogan from the Omagh Heritage Forum. The theme of his talk was Listed buildings in Omagh, which he identified by reference to the website Historic Map Viewer. This brought up a map of Omagh on which each listed building was marked by a dot. He demonstrated how a single click on a dot opens a sub-menu detailing the name of the property, its address and date of construction and the category of listed building into which it falls – Grade A being the highest. The only Grade A listed building in Omagh is the Sacred Heart Church.  This beautiful church was constructed between 1892 and 1899 by Colhoun Brothers, Derry who were, at the same time, working on the construction of the 1st Omagh Presbyterian Church on the Dublin Road.
However, Historic Map Viewer reveals several Grade B listed buildings in Omagh, about which a wealth of information can be uncovered by scrolling around the map.  The buildings examined by Mr Brogan in his perusal of the town included, the Courthouse, Omagh Gaol, St Lucia Barracks, The Royal Arms Hotel, the High Street Banks, the County Club, and the Protestant churches on Church Street – St Columba’s, The Methodist Church and Trinity Presbyterian.  Supported by photographs from Dr Haldane Mitchell’s Images of Omagh series, and Martin Taggart’s collection of vintage postcards, Vincent provided a fascinating and informative talk about Omagh and its heritage.