THE fourteenth in the series, 'Images of Omagh and District' entitled 'Down the Years' has just been published and the many admirers and collectors of these volumes will be entranced with this latest collection of memories of Omagh's yesteryears. The volume is, once again, compiled and edited by Doctor Haldane Mitchell, and whilst its appeal is primarily visual, the captions, essays and other written material are instructive, the Doctor's observations being as always erudite and entertaining.
The book follows the familiar formula which has proved so successful over the years. A wide spectrum of local history is encompassed, social, commercial, educational, sporting and religious aspects are revisited and, such is the volume and variety of the material, that one marvels at the care and diligence with which the many historic photographs have been preserved by local people, and at the industry displayed by Dr Mitchell in sourcing them. As in past volumes the pictures have been restored and enhanced, so that they maintain a pristine definition, although some date from as far back as the latter part of 19th century.
People turn to these registers for different reasons. For some people they provide an exercise in nostalgia as faces of old friends and acquaintances, some sadly deceased, come up out of the past. For a younger generation these books provide an idea of the history of the town and of the interests and achievements of those who have contributed to the making of the community. For those and they are quite numerous, who have moved into the district from other places, they give an invaluable insight into their adopted town. I say 'town' but Omagh is now a city in all but name.
One of the most interesting chapters in the present volume deals with the businesses that have come and gone in the 20th century, with particular regard to High Street and Market Street: Davy Young's, Harvey McGrath, the Home and Colonial Stores and many more businesses of former days are fondly recalled, and there is a collage of the bill heads of Omagh traders of yesterday. The book opens with a well researched article (by John McCandless) on JB Anderson's Store, which stood on the corner of Market Street and the Dublin Road where the HSBC bank is now located. A huge store, it contained several departments. At Christmas there was always a Santa Claus, and generations of schoolchildren were fascinated by the miniature railway and model trains that ran behind several shop windows. There is a picture of some of the model engines.
An extensive feature continues the story of the Loreto Convent Grammar School, profusely illustrated and compiled with the help of the late Sister Stanislaus, who sadly did not live to see the article in print.
There are various pictures of railway engines in the age of steam in Omagh and environs.
The latest publication contains a detailed history of the First Omagh Presbyterian Church and also a treatise on the Parish of Clogherney.
There are several miscellaneous chapters recalling many individuals and locations from Omagh's past, the aerial photographs are particularly interesting in that the reader can get a vivid understanding of the towns development over the years. Fifty years ago the population of Omagh was 5,500, it is now about five times that number. This expansion has not come without cost to the historic fabric of the town, so all the more are we indebted to Dr Mitchell's compilations for preserving so much of Omagh's past, in pictorial form.
A short review such as this can only give a flavour of the riches that reside in this latest addition to the series. The book runs to 266 pages, and is most attractively produced with its hundreds of photographs. There is a touch of humour too, as in the caption under a picture of the famous 'hanging gardens' behind the houses in the old Potato Market which debouched into the Strule, and are described here as "advanced sanitary arrangements".
'Images of Omagh' is published by Omagh Rotary and all proceeds from sales go towards Rotary - supported local charities.
S McK
