Omagh

 

is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 miles (109.5 km) to the east of Omagh, and Derry is 34 miles (55 km) to the north. The closest public air links to the town are situated at these cities. Enniskillen Airport, a small air strip, lies 24 miles/38.5 km to the southwest of Omagh.

History

 

The name Omagh is an anglicisation of the Irish name an Óghmaigh (modern Irish an Ómaigh), meaning "the virgin plain". A monastery was apparently established on the site of the town about 792 AD, and a Franciscan friary was founded in 1464.. Omagh was founded as a town in 1610. 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, burned the town.

Snow is common in Omagh during the winter months. Shown here is the River Strule.

 

One of the major floods of 1969, shown here on Drumragh Avenue.

Places of interest

 

Tourist attractions

Glenpark Road. Heading south-west towards Omagh; to the left is the "Rest and be thankful" bench.

 

• The Ulster American Folk Park near 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 of the US Treasury. The park is an open-air museum that explores the journey made by the Irish (specifically those from Ulster) 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 Glen Forest Park, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of Omagh is a large forest with many attractions, including a deer enclosure and many areas of natural beauty, including waterfalls, lakes, etc.

• 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.

Education

 

Omagh has a large variety of educational institutions at all levels. Omagh is also the headquarters of the Western Education and Library Board (WELB), which is located in Campsie House on the Hospital Road.

 

Primary schools (elementary schools)

 

• St. Colmcille's Primary School
  
   
• Christ The King Primary School
  
  
• Gibson Primary School
  
  
• Gillygooley Primary School
  
  
  
• Holy Family Primary School
  
   
• Omagh County Primary School (and Nursery School)
  
   
• Omagh Integrated Primary School
  
  
  
• St Mary's Primary School
  
  
  
• St Conors Primary School
  
  
  
• Gaelscoil na gCrann Irish language Primary school (and Naíscoil – Irish language nursery school)
  
   
• Recarson Primary School– Arvalee
  
  
  
   

Grammar/secondary school

 

• Christian Brothers Grammar School
  
  
  
  

  Omagh College
  
   
• Drumragh Integrated College
  
  
  
• Loreto Grammar School
  
  
• Omagh Academy
  
  
  
• Omagh High School
  
  
  
• Sacred Heart College
  
  
  
  
  

Colleges/universities

 

• Omagh College of Further Education

SOURCE : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh

Classifieds in Omagh