Author: OPC

Wednesday, 25 April 2018: Mr Wesley Acheson, Editor, Tyrone Constitution

Having congratulated Probus on being such a thriving club, Mr Acheson indicated that his talk would be about the Tyrone Constitution – its past, present and future.  The “Con” was established in 1844 by Mr John Nellis to serve the local community, a commitment which has withstood rapid advances in how newspapers are printed.  In the mid-nineteenth century the paper was produced on hand presses in Omagh;  today it is all done on computer and the paper is printed electronically in Belfast.     Wesley shared that he had joined the staff of the Tyrone Constitution in 1974 straight from school and recounted some of the stories he had covered as a cub reporter.   Regrettably “The Troubles” produced more stories that one would have wished for, the biggest being the Omagh bomb in 1998.   The paper’s coverage of this tragedy was so sensitively handled that the editorial team was honoured with a national newspaper award at a ceremony in London.  To show how the paper evolved down the years Wesley had brought with him copies of the “Con” from 1867 to modern times.   Early “Cons” cost 5 pence and were purchased mainly by well-heeled citizens who could afford the price.   The front page was filled with adverts, some of which would raise a smile if printed today.  However the “Con” remains focused on the local community in which it continues to enjoy trust, respect, and support.

Wednesday 18th April 2018, Mr Michael Deehan, St Vincent de Paul 

Founded in Paris in 1833 by a 20 year old student, Frederick Ozanam, the society exists to provide practical assistance to families in need. Its charitable work in Ireland began in 1844 and today there are branches through the country.   Each branch is referred to as a “conference” and there are seven conferences in to the local area – Omagh, Killyclogher, Strathroy, Beragh, Fintona, Carrickmore and Dromore.   St Vincent de Paul is a cross-community charity which, in addition to material support, provides specialist advice on debt relief and how to become self-sufficient.  It exerts political pressure when possible to alleviate situations creating difficulties for the poor and also collaborates with international organisations in times of crisis to help refugees as in Calais.  Locally SVDP is well known for collecting household goods and clothing which it can pass on to those in need or sell to raise funds. One of its better known projects is the sale of Christmas trees in the car park in Killyclogher.   Mr Deehan was keen to stress that all assistance offered by the society is provided on a non-judgemental basis and is entirely confidential. He was thanked for his address by Probus President, Paddy McGowan.

Annual Inter-Club Quiz, Wednesday 11th April 2018 

This year 17 teams participated in the annual Inter-club quiz with entrants from Probus Clubs in Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen, Londonderry, Strabane & Lifford, and Omagh Men’s and Ladies. The quiz master was Mr Joseph Cummings assisted by volunteers from the Omagh Clubs. The raffle, in the capable hands of John Robson, raised £330.00 – more than enough to cover the costs of hosting the event. After 8 rounds the  Londonderry Probus Club Team 1 was awarded the James Eakin Shield for the 5th consecutive year.  The Bert McCrory Cup for the best performing Omagh Team went to Omagh Ladies who were also runners-up overall. Photographers from the local papers were on hand to record and publicise a very successful event in the Probus Calendar of West Ulster.  Photographs have also been posted on Facebook and can be viewed by clicking on the following link https://www.facebook.com/Omagh-Probus-Club-Inter-Club-Quiz-2018-628415854179753/

Wednesday 4 April 2018: Mr Geoffrey Simpson: Antiques and Antiquities

Geoffrey began his talk by literally blowing his own trumpet – in this case a bronze age ox horn some 3000 years old.   This gave him the opportunity to explain that his interests are in both Antiquities [items that are very old] and Antiques [items around 100 years old].  He had brought with him a number of objects of both types and started by passing round a 200 million year old fossil from the Jurassic Period.   Common in the Lias Clay beds on the Antrim coast it was thought to be one of the Devils Toenails before being properly identified as an early mollusc. This exhibit was followed by a polished segment of dinosaur jawbone [complete with teeth] before showing off some stone-age axe heads crafted from volcanic porcellanite and flint.   The bronze age saw the arrival in Ireland of Celtic smiths and the first jewellery delicately worked in gold and bronze.   Members were enthralled by a beautifully decorated gold ring from this period.   Moving on to the modern era Geoffrey passed around a number of small items, the most intriguing of which was a tobacco box which once contained Dr White’s Glasgow Presbyterian Mixture as smoked by the Rt Hon Stanley Baldwin; at least that is what it said on the tin.   Other items included ivory pill boxes and snuff boxes, suddenly back in fashion in some quarters as receptacles for cocaine.  He was thanked for a most interesting talk by Probian, Michael Cooney.

Wednesday 28th March 2018:  Stephen McKenna:  The History of Omagh

Guest speaker Stephen McKenna took as his theme the history of Omagh.  The name “Omagh” indicates a plain but the origin of Omagh is obscure. In jocular mood Stephen said a hermit resident in early Omagh described it as “a den of thieves and robbers” and a papal envoy travelling through the area was quoted as saying that he “couldn’t get out of it quick enough”.  The early town had a Franciscan Friary located behind the Hogg’s Head pub. The 150 monks there provided various social services to the local community but with the collapse of the O’Neill dynasty the friary also came to an end. In 1768 Omagh became the county town of Tyrone. Construction of the Courthouse, completed in 1824, added to the importance of the town as an administrative centre. Also, in the nineteenth century, schools were established, hospitals built, and the town connected to the railway system. The 1880’s saw the first substantial buildings of St Lucia barracks constructed.  Lisanelly camp was developed during World War II.   Three of the main church buildings, the Methodist church, the Presbyterian Meetinghouse on the Dublin Road and the Catholic church were all replaced with new buildings close to their original sites. Stephen said Omagh can claim to be a cultural centre and he enumerated a number of writers, poets, musicians and actors of note who were or are from the town. It is a cosmopolitan and liberal town and has much to be proud of.

At the same meeting long-serving club member, Pat McCaul, was presented with his Honorary Membership Certificate, it being the custom of the Club to confer Honorary Membership on Probians who have celebrated their 90th birthday.

Wednesday 21 March 2018: Anthony (Tony) Brogan: Teaching in Uganda in the ’60’s

Shortly after graduating from the Queen’s University in 1965 with a degree in English, Tony, a former pupil of Omagh CBS, got married.  Part of his honeymoon with his new wife, Mary, was a flight to Uganda on a BOAC VC10 airliner en route to a teaching post in St Edwards CBS in Mubende.  He recalled that the first part of the journey from the airport to the school was on a paved road which became an increasingly bumpy dirt track as they penetrated deeper and deeper in to rural Uganda.   The school was soundly constructed from baked red earth bricks but otherwise rudimentary. The bigger surprise was that he and his wife were the only white people on campus, all other students and staff belonging to local tribes.   Tony began his talk to Probus with a Geography lesson, holding up a map of the world to show where Uganda was and sketch map of Uganda to show its location in East Africa.   Back in the 60’s most Ugandans were peasant farmers bartering their produce in the local markets in what was largely a cashless economy.  During his interesting talk Tony touched on local culture and customs including the influence of witch doctors and tribal chiefs.   After 6 years in the tropics he returned home to take up a teaching post in his old school.  His final anecdote was about an old country woman in rural Ulster who imagined that his three children would be black because they were born in Africa.

Wednesday 14th March; Hugh Ward: Family Trees

Club member, Hugh Ward, stated that his purpose was to encourage those who had aspirations to fill in a family tree not to be deterred because there was plenty of help and practical advice.   Various pro formas were available on-line including one published recently by the Belfast Telegraph.  He distributed a simplified construct with spaces for three generations that would likely cover the first 100 years of family history.  But where to start?  He recommended talking to the oldest members of the family and using photograph albums to write down as many names as living memory provides.    Church and parish records in many places go back to 1864 providing records of births, deaths, and marriages.  The Griffith Evaluation, commissioned in the 19th century for purposes of rural taxation, today shows who owned or rented every field and farm in the country.  It is available on-line.   The first census in Ireland was conducted in 1821 and every 10 years thereafter except the record is not complete due in part to the burning of the Public Record Office in Dublin in 1922.  Old school roll books, many now housed in the Northern Ireland Public Record Office are worth examining as are back copies of local papers, now available in microfilm in local  libraries.  Tombstones in graveyards can also be revealing as can local histories.  The most recent aid to researching family trees is DNA testing which reveals not just your genetic composition [e.g 4 parts Irish, 1 part Norse] but also how many members of your extended family are already on the DNA database.  Hugh’s talk was very well received and gave rise to much discussion.

Probus Vice-President, Oliver Loughran chose as his topic his involvement with the Music Industry in Ireland in the days of his youth. Much of what he recalled resonated with members and evoked their own memories of listing to Radio Luxembourg.   As a teenager growing up in Ballygawley, attending Omagh CBS, opportunities to go to dances listen to live music were limited.  The annual Music Carnival organised by the parish in Ballygawley to raise funds was an exciting event in the late ‘50’s, especially if the Melody Aces were playing. He recalled a Fordson tractor parked behind the hall to power the generator for the amplifiers and hearing the tractor between the numbers.  The local music scene in those days was dominated by early showbands such as the Clipper Carlton and the Quigley Band.   On arrival at Queen’s University in 1961 Oliver and some friends formed their own band in which he was the drummer. Their reputation on campus grew and memorable gigs included rag week concerts compered by Bob Monhkouse and Des O’Connor.   In their final year at university the band appeared on stage in the Ulster Hall supporting big name bands such as the Royal Showband and the Capital Showband. After his talk others were keen to add their own reminiscences of the showband era and the meeting ended with humorous anecdotes of loves lost and won at dances in Tyrone and Fermanagh.