Fintona
Coordinates: 54°30′N 7°19′W / 54.50°N 7.32°W
| Fintona | |
| Irish: Fionntamhnach | |
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|
 Fintona
Fintona shown within Northern Ireland |
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| Population | 1,410 (2010 est.) |
|---|---|
| - Belfast | 66 miles / 106 km |
| District | Omagh |
| County | County Tyrone |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OMAGH |
| Postcode district | BT78 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | West Tyrone |
| NI Assembly | West Tyrone |
| List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Tyrone | |
Fintona (from Irish: Fionntamhnach, meaning "white field")[1] is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second largest settlement in the Omagh District Council area, after Omagh itself. Its 2010 population was estimated to be 1,410.[2]
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[edit] History
This area has had known human dwelling for about 4,000 years and there are many burial places, standing stones, stone circles and graves in the area around Fintona. The Uí Néill built a fortress here in the fifteenth century, but in 1668 the area passed into the ownership of the Eccles family.
[edit] Transport
Fintona is linked to Omagh by the B122 road. This connects to the A5 Omagh to Ballygawley road 2 miles (3 km) outside Omagh. Recently there has been controversy over the state of a half-mile stretch of this road, known as the "green spot", about 3 miles from Omagh.
Fintona railway station opened on 5 June 1853 and Fintona Junction railway station opened on 1 May 1856. Both stations were shut on 1 October 1957.[3]
[edit] Horse tram
One of the best known symbols of Fintona is the horse-drawn tram (or "van" to the locals) that took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction station one mile away. The name of the horse was always "Dick". First class and second class passengers travelled inside while third class travellers sat exposed to the elements on the top. The tram made its last trip on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed, and with it, Fintona's rail links to the rest of Ireland. When retired, it was the second last existing example of a horse-drawn tram in public service in the British Isles, the only remaining one now being on Douglas promenade, Isle of Man. The "van" now lies at the Ulster Transport Museum.
When entering the village, the greeting signs include a silhouette of the horsetram with "Dick" pulling the tram along with the driver and conductor on board. In recent years this image has been used as a symbol or crest of the village for identity.
Both the Fintona branch (with its horse tram) and the main line through Fintona Junction were part of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).[4]
[edit] Geography
Fintona lies about halfway between two of Ulster's notable natural landmarks, the Sperrins to the north and Lough Erne to the south. Omagh, the county town of Tyrone, lies 8 miles (13 km) north. Enniskillen is 19 miles (30 km) south-west, Belfast 66 miles (106 km) east and Dublin 108 miles (173 km) south-east.
The village itself lies across several gentle hills, including the middle of the village itself at Main Street. The street rises to the hill's summit at its centre with both ends at the foot. There are small pockets of flat ground, mostly in the Ecclesville Demesne. Halfway between Fintona and Fivemiletown (nine miles south-east) the land rises where Murley Mountain lies. This mountain marks the western edge of the Clogher Valley, and rises to a peak of 312 metres (1024 ft) above sea level. On the summit is the Lendrums Bridge wind farm, one of the largest in Ireland, with 20 turbines. Another 10 are planned for neighbouring Hunter's Hill. Murley Mountain's location is lonely and exposed, especially to prevailing south-westerly winds. This makes it a prime site for wind-generated power.
Farming plays a key role in the economy of Fintona. Much of the farming is cattle based involved meat and milk production, with some sheep rearing, particularly on higher ground. There are also some pig farms in the area. The land and climate does not lend itself to arable farming, but some maize is grown. This does not ripen and is not meant for human consumption, but is used to boost the protein of cattle feed. On higher ground near the summit of Murley Mountain, there are also peat bogs.
A small river named the "Quiggery Water" flows through Fintona, with bridges crossing it at Kiln Street and Mill Street. This river then joins with the Ballynahatty Water to form the Drumragh River, which in turn joins the Camowen River at Omagh to form the River Strule.
[edit] Sport and leisure
- There are several sports clubs in Fintona, which include Fintona Tennis Club, Fintona Cycling Club and Fintona Badminton Club. There are also two indoor bowls clubs. The Fintona Golf Club, beside Ecclesville Demesne, is seen by many as one of the finest nine hole golf courses in Ireland.
- Partly thanks to the number of public houses in Fintona (no less than 10), darts, pool and snooker also prove popular.
- The Fintona Swifts Football Club field two teams in the Fermanagh & Western Junior Football league. Home games are not played in Fintona, instead they are played at Cranny Bridge in Omagh. As of March 2009 accommodation is being prepared to bring the team "home" with the development of a football pitch in Ecclesville Park by Omagh District Council.
- Fintona Pearses Gaelic Athletic Association Club provide for Gaelic football teams in the village, and play their home games at St. Lawrence's Park just outside Fintona on the Tattymoyle Road. It is the oldest sports club in Fintona and has in the past supplied the Tyrone county team with players. A Ladies Gaelic football team of the same name and Setanta GAA Club, which fields hurling teams at youth level, also play their home games at St Lawrence's Park.
- The Ecclesville Centre, on the Ecclesville Demesne, is one of the most unusual in the UK and Ireland in that it is a combined equestrian and community/leisure complex. Opened in 1995, the facility has proven popular not only among equestrians, but also for other sports activities, in particular indoor football, bowls and badminton. The equestrian part of the centre includes stables, an indoor arena and outdoor arena with the open park land and forest of the Ecclesville Demesne also available. The leisure end of the centre includes a sports hall, a minor hall, changing rooms and a fitness suite with tennis courts and an all-weather basketball and football area. The centre also hosts the Fintona Cross-Community Youth Club and a computer suite.
[edit] Parks
The main public park in Fintona is on the Ecclesville Demesne, and is known as Ecclesville Park. The park itself has a play-area for children and an all-weather football, basketball and tennis courts used alongside the Ecclesville Centre, walking routes, a pond and a forest.
Other children’s play-areas are at Mill Street and Ashfield Gardens.
[edit] Education
Fintona has two primary schools; Denamona County Primary School and St Lawrence's Primary School. St Patrick's Primary School lies three miles (5 km) east of Fintona in the townland of Garvallagh but closed 31 August 2009 due to low enrolment.[5] Another Primary school, St Joseph's in the townland of Lisconrea, was closed in 2003 due to low enrolment.
There are no post-primary schools in Fintona, children continue their education at schools usually either in Omagh, Dromore or Fivemiletown, while a few have also attended schools in Ballygawley and Enniskillen.
Omagh College also provided outreach courses at the Ecclesville Centre.
[edit] Literature
Poets Wilson Guy and John Montague came from the area.
[edit] Media and communications
As part of Omagh District, the media in Fintona very much mimics that of its big neighbour, with newspapers based in Omagh covering events in Fintona. This includes the Tyrone Constitution, the Tyrone Herald and the Ulster Herald.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s a monthly local news magazine, the Village Voice, was published by the now defunct Fintona Development Association. The magazine covered news, features and activities in Fintona, Seskinore and Eskra.
A Post Office lies in the Main Street with daily collections (inc. Saturdays & Sundays). The local postcode starts with BT78. A second postbox is at the Supervalu supermarket on Tattymoyle Road.
A BT Telephone exchange lies just outside the village on the Castletown Road, serving the village and the neighbouring hamlets of Seskinore and Eskra. The STD code is 028 in common with the rest of Northern Ireland, with all local numbers being in the format 8284xxxx. The exchange was enabled for ADSL broadband in September 2004. BT have set a date of the first quarter of 2010 for the exchange to be upgraded for the 21st Century Network.[6]
Terrestrial Television (both analogue & digital), FM radio & DAB services are received from the Brougher Mountain transmitter site. Satellite television is popular, nearly all with capable receivers subscribe to Sky Digital. There are no cable operators in the village.
[edit] Government
Fintona lies in the West Tyrone electoral constituency for elections to both the Houses of Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. For local government elections (to elect councillors to Omagh District Council), Fintona lies within the West Tyrone District Electoral Area along with Dromore, Drumquin, Trillick, Seskinore and Newtownsaville.
[edit] Churches
Fintona has several church buildings, including:
- Barr Parish Church (Church of Ireland) parishes/donacavey
- Donacavey Parish Church (Church of Ireland) parishes/donacavey
- Fintona Gospel Hall
- Fintona Independent Methodist Church [1]
- Fintona Methodist Church [2]
- Fintona Presbyterian Church
- St. Lawrence's Church (Roman Catholic) [3]
[edit] People
- John of Fintona, fl. late thirteenth century.
- Gerry Armstrong, the Northern Irish footballer, who scored three goals in the 1982 World Cup grew up in Fintona.
- Kieran Corrigan (film producer) producer of films including The General and Evelyn, grew up and went to school in Fintona.[7]
- Country music singer Derrick Mehaffey, a former "Male vocalist of the Year" at the European CMA awards,[8] lives just outside Fintona; he once owned a radio and television sales and repair shop in the village.
[edit] 2001 Census
Fintona is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e., with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,359 people living in Fintona. Of these:
- 24.9% were aged under 16 and 17.4% were aged 60 and over
- 48.3% of the population were male and 51.7% were female
- 72.3% were from a Catholic background and 27.1% were from a Protestant background
- 5.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
[edit] References
- ^ Placenames NI
- ^ &men= gpro&lng= en&dat= 32&srt= npan&col= aohdq&geo= 520217268 Population statistics
- ^ "Fintona and Fintona Junction stations". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
- ^ Fintona Horse Tramway
- ^ Department of Education NI Press Release
- ^ NIFIN samknows.com
- ^ IMDB
- ^ Artist Profile
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fintona |
