More about Omagh

Omagh was founded as a town in 1610, nearly 150 years after the foundation of the Franciscan Friary in the town. It served as a refuge for fugitives from the east of Tyrone during the 1641 Rebellion. In 1689, the same year as the Battle of the Boyne, James II arrived at Omagh, en route to Derry. Supporters of William III, Prince of Orange, burnt the town.

In 1768, Omagh replaced Dungannon as the county town of Tyrone. Omagh acquired railway links to Derry in 1852, Enniskillen in 1853 and Belfast in 1861. The Military Barracks was built in 1881. In 1899 Tyrone County Hospital was opened. Today the hospital is the subject of a massive campaign to save its services. The Ulster Transport Authority closed the Omagh-Enniskillen railway line in 1957 and the Portadown-Derry main line in 1965, leaving the town with no rail service. The town's large military barracks closed on 1 August 2007.

Famous visitors to Omagh have included U.S. President Bill Clinton, Irish President Mary McAleese, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Omagh has a history of flooding and suffered major floods in 1909, 1929, 1954, 1969, 1987, 1999 and, most recently, 12 June 2007. As a result of this, flood-walls were built to keep the water in the channel (River Strule) and to prevent it from overflowing into the flood plain. Large areas of land, mainly around the meanders, are unsuitable for development and were developed into large, green open areas, walking routes and parks.

Demography - Population - 19,910, Population under 16 years - 24.8%, Population over 60 years - 14.9%, Average age - 34.0 years (N.I. average - 35.8 years), Male population - 48.9%, Female population - 51.1%, People born outside Northern Ireland - 13.8%, People from a non-white ethnic group - 1.2%

The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh includes the cottage where Thomas Mellon was born in 1813, before emigrating to Pennsylvania, in the United States when he was five. His son Andrew W. Mellon became secretary to the US Treasury. The park is an open-air museum that explores the journey made by the Irish to America during the 1800s. The park is famous for its large events during Easter, Christmas, Fourth of July and Halloween. It also hosts a major Bluegrass festival every year. Over 127,000 people visited the park in 2003.

The Gortin Glens Forest Park, 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Omagh is a large forest with many attractions, including a deer enclosure and many areas of natural beauty, including waterfalls, lakes, etc. The Strule Arts Centre opened in 2007 is good example of urban renewal in Omagh town centre. Creating a modern civic building, in a newly created public space reclaimed from the formerly disused area, between the River Strule and High Street.

Omagh boasts over 20 playgrounds for children, and a large amount of green open area for all the public. The largest (and most well known) of these is the Grange Park, located near the town centre. Many areas around the meanders of the River Strule have also been developed into open areas. Omagh Leisure Complex is a large public amenity, near the Grange Park and is set in 11 hectares (26 acres) of landscaped grounds and features a leisure centre, boating pond, astroturf pitch and cycle paths.

Omagh is the main retail centre for Tyrone, as well as the West of Ulster (behind Derry), due to its central location. In the period 2000-2003, over £80 million was invested in Omagh, and 60,960m² (200,000 sq ft) of new retail space was created. Shopping areas in Omagh include the Main Street Mall, Great Northern Road Retail Park and the Showgrounds Retail Park on Sedan Avenue in the town centre. High Street is also a prominent shopping street. There are also supermarkets such as Asda and Super Valu and fast food outlets such as KFC and McDonalds.

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