Month: April 2024

Omagh Probus Inter-club quiz 2024
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Omagh Probus annual Inter-club Quiz was held in Omagh Golf Club on Wednesday 17^th April 2024 with nine teams competing.   First held in 1985 the Inter-club Quiz has been a highlight of the Probus year in the west of the Province for some 36 years; however Covid and declining membership in local Probus Clubs has resulted in fewer Clubs and fewer teams being able to participate.  Those that were represented this year were Enniskillen, Londonderry, Omagh Ladies and Omagh Men’s, with a team from the Golf Club invited to make up numbers and make the event more of a competition.

In the event it was a lovely morning with some 40 players enjoying a fun event as they chatted between rounds of the Quiz and renewed friendships formed in previous competitions. The Quizmasters were Peter and Margaret Cummings who challenged players with a wide variety of questions most of which were answerable but with enough tricky ones to leave the Omagh Ladies 1^st team clear winners.  The competition has two trophies – The James Eakin Shield for the best team overall and the Bert McCrory Cup for the best Omagh Team.   For the first time both were won by an Omagh team, and the Ladies were thrilled to have achieved it.

At the close of the event Probus President, Mr Felim O’Neill, expressed appreciation to Quiz Masters Peter and Margaret Cummings and all who had pulled together to make the event memorable, successful and enjoyable.

Probus Outing Wednesday 3 April 2024:  Pat Kirk Showrooms, Omagh

On Wednesday 3 April the club visited the newly refurbished showrooms of Pat Kirk Ltd on the Brookmount Road, Omagh.  Seventeen members attended and on arrival were warmly welcomed by Mr Pat Kirk himself.   Seated in the board room they were treated to tea, coffee and a lavish array of pastries, before Mr Peter Dermott gave an overview of this renowned family-owned enterprise.

Now in its third generation the business was started by “grandad” Pat who opened a petrol station in Strabane in 1963.  He gradually moved into sales, stocking tyres, batteries, brakes etc before becoming a Vauxhall A.S.O. [Authorised Servicing Operative.]  This continued very successfully until the mid-90’s when Vauxhall rationalized in Northern Ireland and Kirk’s lost out. The family responded by writing to every car maker from Audi to Volvo promoting their business and were successful in attracting the interest of Mazda. Determined enterprising won them franchises for Nissan and Ford as well, and to some extent the rest is history.

Not that it was plain sailing or easy. The move from their original location in Omagh on the Gortin Road to the present site on the Brookmount Road – on St Patrick’s Day 2005 – was fraught with difficulty but marked a turning point in the fortunes of the company.  Nor have things stood still in Strabane, the business having relocated three times from its original home on Railway Street; it is now located on Bradley Way.

Today Pat Kirk Ltd is a major employer. The company has a policy of recruiting young men and women from college and supporting them while they develop into skilled mechanics, salespersons, etc. Government policy dictates the future of motor manufacturing and sales. The decision to “go green” by 2035 and focus on Electric vehicles [EV’s] will engage the minds of all in the motor trade for the foreseeable future. However, Mr Pat Kirk and his family are clearly up for the challenge, determined to build on the success of the past, and provide for the population of Omagh and beyond, with first class motor sales and service.