Author: OPC

Meeting of Wednesday 17th April 2019
Speaker: Mr Michael Clarke. Topic: Lough Erne – Catilina Flying Boats

 Mr Clarke is the Admiral of Lough Erne Yacht Club located at Gublusk Bay, Killeadeas on the site where a squadron of Catilina Flying Boats was based during World War II. His talk embraced not just the history of the site, but the contribution made to the war effort by Catalinas in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theatres. Deigned and built in America the Catilina Flying boat was the most advanced aircraft of its type when war broke out in 1939. It was a true flying boat with the hull of a speed boat supporting a wing high above the fuselage to prevent water from being sucked into the engines. Catilinas were ideal for patrolling the Western Atlantic where in 1940 U-boats were harassing the allied mercantile fleet. Initially they operated from bases on the Solway Firth but once a secret deal had been done with the “Free State” that allowed them to overfly Donegal a squadron was posted to Lough Erne in 1941. Along with Sunderland Flying Boats operating out of Castle Archdale they helped win the Battle of the Atlantic and played a prominent role in tracking and sinking the Bismarck. In the far East they were successfully deployed in the Battle of Mid-way which re-established US naval supremacy in the Pacific following Pearl Harbour.   Michael was thanked for a thoroughly engaging talk by retired Naval Officer and club member, John Robson.

Meeting of Wednesday 10th April 2019: Inter-Club
On Wednesday 10th April Omagh Probus hosted its annual Inter-Club quiz. President Oliver Loughran welcomed teams for Cookstown, Dungannon, Derry, Enniskillen and Strabane as well as two teams from Omagh Ladies Probus and one from the Golf Club. Before competition got underway club members and visitors observed a minute’s silence in memory of Club Secretary, Gerry McGonigle, who had passed away suddenly on 30th March and who had played a major part in organising the Quiz. In all 15 teams took part and after 8 rounds of 8 questions each the winners of the James Eakin Shield were the players from the Golf Club. The Bert McCrory Cup for the best Omagh Team was once again awarded to Omagh Ladies. A raffle for prizes donated by members of Omagh Probus raised over £300.00, sufficient to pay for the refreshments which had been served to members and guests as they arrived. Thanks were expressed to question master, Joseph Cummings, and Desmond Smart and his team of scrutineers for marking the answers and keeping the score.

President, Oliver Loughran, with the team from Omagh Ladies Probus which won the Bert McCrory Cup

Wednesday, 3 April 2019:  In Memoriam, Gerry McGonigle

When members assembled in the Golf Club on Wednesday morning it was in the shadow of the sudden death of their esteemed Club Secretary, Gerry McGonigle, who had been laid to rest on Monday, 1st April. Probians were prominent in the large congregation which attended his funeral mass in the Sacred Heart Church and who formed a Guard of Honour outside the porch as Gerry’s coffin was carried to the hearse. The President began by thanking club members for their attendance before inviting all to stand in silent tribute to their departed colleague. In the half hour which followed member after member took the roving microphone to speak of their time with Gerry and share their personal memories of a lovely man. It was agreed that the tribute which had been written about Gerry for the local paper should be placed in the Club Archive. Read it here.

The second part of the meeting was devoted to finalising arrangements for the Annual Inter-Club Quiz and closed on an up-beat note when Eamon Cunningham proposed his friend Aidan Quinn for membership.

Wednesday 7 March 2019: In-house Quiz

 

In keeping with the thinking that at least one meeting each month should be “Home-grown”, Vice-President, Michael Cooney, organised an In-House Quiz.   Having divided those present into groups of 4 or 5 he then challenged members with 10 rounds of tricky questions covering topics such as Art, Geography, Music, Holywood stars of yesterday year and General Knowledge.   In this he set the scene for the Inter-Club Quiz planned for Wednesday 10th April when 14 teams from Probus Clubs across Tyrone, Fermanagh and Londonderry will contest the James Eakin Cup in a tradition that goes back more years than most can remember.

 

 

Wednesday 20 March 2019:  Mr Paddy McGrath:  Chair Exercises

The President welcomed Mr Paddy McGrath from Omagh Leisure Centre where he routinely takes classes for Chair Exercises. Having re-arranged the seating to ensure everyone had enough space to fling their arms out he then led members in a half hour session of stretching, bending and twisting designed to improve fitness and well-being. It was the first such session in the club’s history but was so enjoyable that it may not be the last.

Wednesday 6 March 2019.  Prof Mike Cowan:  Topic  “A Scotch – Irish Odyssey”

Mr Cowan was introduced by Probian, Eamon Cunningham, as a distinguished American academic and visiting professor at both Trinity and Oxbridge. Rather teasingly Prof Cowan stated that the purpose of his talk was to trace a line from King William of Orange to President Trump. In 1720 four Cowan brothers emigrated from County Down to settle in the Appalachian Mountains along with other Ulster emigres. Proud of their protestant roots and bound by a strong sense of community they called themselves “The Billy Boys of the Hills”. They were the first “Hillbillies”. Whereas Irish Catholics from the same era were keen to become a part of new world society, the “Hillbillies” never really availed of the opportunities which existed to get up, get out and get on. As a result, they languished at the bottom of the economic ladder working in the mines and in the heavy industries drawn to the coalfields. In this situation they acquired any number of unkind nick-names – Rednecks, Honkies, Oakies, Coonasses and Trailer Trash. In a series of slides Prof Cowan illustrated patterns of poverty in Appalachia, which mirrored patterns of ill-health, especially “Black Lung” – a condition resulting from working down the mines and inhaling coal dust. This in turn corelated with other socio-economic indicators which when overlaid with voting patterns in the last Presidential election showed that “hillbillies” voted solidly for Mr Trump.  To demonstrate the hillbillies’ contribution to country music Prof Cowan ended his talk by singing a song about coal mining, accompanied by local guitarist Patrick Bradley.

Meeting of Wednesday 27 February 2019.  Speaker Mr Aiden Bunting. Topic “The Health Service”

In a wide-ranging presentation, Mr Bunting spoke about the range of services provided by the Health and Social Care Trusts  in Northern Ireland including Health Promotion, General Practice, Hospitals, Mental Health, and Family and Children’s Social Services. Over 55,00 persons are employed in the delivery of Health and Social Care, including doctors, dentists, nurses, midwives, and support service such as physiotherapy, audiology, podiatry. The list also includes the ambulance service and those employed in the social, clerical and administrative services. Having outlined what the HSC is trying to achieve in terms of promoting good health and treating those who are ill, Mr Bunting turned his attention to the challenges facing HSC such the impact of an ageing population, waiting lists, staff shortages, and financial constraints. He then examined Disability and Mental Health Services showing how these contributed to Western HSC Trust expenditure of £704m pa. One of the many statistics provided is that in a typical year the Western Trust carries out over 250,000 X-Rays, CT Scans and Ultrasounds and that the Ambulance service has over 58,000 call-outs. Following Mr Bunting’s presentation, members were keen to engage in discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the Health Service, while praising the hard work and dedication of those who whose up-hill task it is to keep the population fit and well.