Author: OPC

Remembrance Sunday 08 November 2020: Probus Wreath

The Remembrance Day parade to the Cenotaph for the laying of poppy wreaths in memory of the fallen was cancelled in 2020 as a result of restrictions imposed by Government in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic.   This year those organisations and individuals that would normally have attended a church service 10.00am and afterwards paraded to the War Memorial were advised by the British Legion not to attend at 11.00 am but to bring their wreaths to the cenotaph sometime during the course of the day.   This was done to avoid congestion and any possible spread of the virus.  The photos below show President, Mr Michael Cooney, laying a wreath on behalf of Omagh Probus Club.

Probus Magazine Contribution:  The piece below was submitted to the editor of PROBUS MAGAZINE on Wed 7 October for publication in a forthcoming edition.

Omagh Men’s Probus Club suspended all meetings and activities when the country went into lockdown at the end of March.  There is little doubt that members miss their weekly meetings in the Golf Club – not that anything very much ever happened beyond the enjoyment of each other’s company and occasional talks from visiting speakers. The club always had a “Telephone Tree” with which to get out urgent messages to members.   During the lockdown the telephone tree became a “Pals List”, with each member placed in a group with 4 – 6 others, the requirement that members of each group would stay closely in touch with each other. Our President, Michael Cooney, has taken an active interest in the activities of each group, sharing news via e-mail and the club website.

By these means the club has been able to keep in touch with its members to ensure that those who required help were being supported by family, friends and the wider community. Social contact between “Probians” was given an added dimension in June when the club started to hold ZOOM Meetings.  [See photo below].  These were held at the hour of Probus, being 10.30 am on Wednesday mornings and were open to all.   Members were encouraged to download Zoom and install it on their computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.  For some it was their first encounter with social media and all who were new to the medium were surprised by how easy it was.  Regular “zoomers” include 102-year-old Bob Lingwood, always keen to tell us about the fortunes of his beloved Chelsea Football Club.

Zoom has provided opportunities to begin planning for a resumption of activities when conditions improve, and the future looks brighter.   In the meantime, our Telephone Tree and Pals List ensures that no-one ever feels cut off from their Probus friends.

Meeting of Wednesday 4 March 2020
Speaker Vincent Brogan: Topic – “19th Century Omagh”

Vincent elaborated on the development of Omagh as a garrison town in the 19th century for the Royal Tyrone Fusiliers and later the Royal Enniskillen Fusiliers.  The population of Tyrone fell dramatically from 1841 to 1901 but the population of Omagh town grew as people moved into the town for work. The arrival of the railways enabled people, goods and animals to be transported more easily and Vincent with the aid of postcards spoke of the development of hotels in Omagh and places of entertainment such as the Ulster Hall. He informed members that maps of old Omagh were available on the PRONI website to download free of charge.

Vincent was thanked by Probian John McCandless for a detailed and informative talk that was much appreciated by members.

Meeting of Wednesday 19 February 2020
Speakers: Shauna Patterson and Tom Flanaghan from Social Services
Topic: Social Services and Assistance for the Elderly – both practical and financial.

Shauna spoke on the practical elements of elderly care stating that after a person is referred to Social Services, usually by a GP, an assessment is made to determine what is required, e.g. occupational therapy or some other form of support.   The individual has an element of choice in this and the options include respite care.   Mr Flanaghan explained the financial aspects of residential care on a long-term basis. Income in excess of £14,250 and /or assets over £23,500 mean that the costs may have to be met either wholly or in part by the patient.   A patient in permanent residential care may well lose out on some pre-existing benefits such as attendance allowance.   Where the patient is the owner of property the Health Care Trust may apply to have a charge registered over the property.   Mr Flanaghan strongly recommended that all those with assets and next of kin should take out an “Enduring Power of Attorney” to help avoid some of the problems which can arise in such circumstances. The team dealt with several questions from members and received praise from those who had first-hand experience of the services that were available to elderly people in the community.

Meeting of Wednesday 12 February 2020
In-House Quiz

Members participating in the In-House Quiz

At the Annual General Meeting in January the challenge of getting a different speaker each Wednesday was acknowledged and ready agreement reached that the Club should make more use of its own reserves of talent. In this field the President had led by example and prepared a quiz for the members. Five teams were quickly formed, with Hugh and Jim acting as scorers. President Michael then directed each team to give itself a name and the following titles emerged from the creative imaginations of the participants. The teams were Rainey’s Rascals, Bob’s Thickies, The Corner Boys, The Four J’s and The Town and Country team. After 6 rounds during which Probians looked alternately smug and mystified Rainey’s Rascals emerged as winners, just ahead of The Four J’s who were closely followed by Bob’s Thickies. President Michael’s teasers included – the opening lines of classical novels, Irish Folk songs, Food and Drink, Famous Faces, Geography and the Birth Names of stars of screen and stage. Whether or not members want more of the same remains a moot question but while it lasted it was good fun.

Meeting of Wednesday 5 February 2020
Speaker: Ms Edel Fox Topic Women’s Aid

The president welcomed Ms Fox, in attendance to receive a cheque from Oliver Loughran who had identified “Women’s Aid” as his nominated Charity for the proceeds of the raffle held at the Christmas Dinner. Edel thanked the club for its generosity and gave a most informative talk about the work of the charity in Omagh.   Based in Holmview Terrace Women’s Aid provides a range of confidential services for women and children experiencing domestic violence.   Domestic Violence is defined as “the intentional and persistent physical, emotional sexual or mental abuse of one person by another where they are, or have been, intimate partners or family members”.   The services provided by Omagh Women’s Aid include places of refuge, court appearances, accommodation, community-based support and children’s and young people’s services. The statistics which Edel quoted both surprised and appalled club members. There are presently over 2000 children in the Child Protection Register in Northern Ireland. The PSNI receives reports of Domestic Violence incidents on average 70 times a day while the Women’s Aid Helpline took over 25,000 calls in 2017 -18.  These, and other worrying statistics about the number of women and children living in refuge centres generated many questions about the underlying causes of Domestic Violence and ways to address an oft-hidden blight sadly pervasive in all walks of modern life.

Meeting of Wednesday 29 January 2020
Speaker: Probian Vice-President, Hugh Ward Topic: Genealogy

Over the years Hugh has become quite knowledgeable about researching the information needed to construct a family tree.  While most people can name the parents and grandparents typically things become murky when researching great grandparents and their parents.  For those whose forebears were born and raised in Ireland the website www.irishgenealogy.ie is an excellent starting point.  Its records include all registered births from 1864 – 1919, all marriages from 1864 – 1919 and all deaths from 1864 to 1969. To illustrate he logged on to Irish Genealogy via the Golf Club’s wi-fi network and opened up files containing civil records.   However in the midst of his demonstration the system crashed and Hugh was forced to continue with verbal descriptions of how to proceed.   Church records, he said, are worth investigating but are often incomplete because of poor book-keeping in the 19th Century.   He warned that it was quite usual for the spelling of surnames to vary over time – as with McCullough, McCullagh and McCulla.   The Griffith Valuation undertaken after the famine 1864 – 65 records the names of all persons resident in Ireland parish by parish, and district by district and is often a fruitful line of inquiry. Many questions brought this interesting session to a close.