Omagh served as a refuge for fugitives from the east of County 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, later burned the town. Omagh acquired railway links to Derry with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway in 1852, Enniskillen in 1853 and Belfast in 1861. The original crest of the town of Omagh was Three lions couchant but it was never officially registered.
Learn more about Omagh’s varied and exciting History and some of the famous people in whose footsteps you are now walking by completing this series that has been created using a trail set up by the former Omagh District Council. The trail starts at the Tourist Information Centre, Market Street and you will be able to absorb quite a bit of the town’s history and character in the course of this little stroll. The walk itself will take about an (not including time needed to search for the caches). Omagh has been a market town, a garrison town, and the county town of Tyrone since 1768. As you walk through its main thoroughfare you are walking the line of the town centre as it was on its foundation as a town in 1610, although there have been settlements along the banks of its rivers since the days of antiquity. Sample the quiet charm of Omagh, and experience the good humour of its people, as you examine some of the features that have shaped this historic town. PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NOT A GEOCACHE AT EACH LOCATION BECAUSE OF THE LIMITATIONS ON DISTANCE BETWEEN GEOCACHES.
Following on the trail around Omagh, stop and take in a view of the following points of interest.
CASTLE STREET (Omagh trail #9) - Castle Street, sometimes called Dry Bridge Street and named after an imposing residence that stood on the site of the present Courthouse.
BROOK STREET (Omagh trail #10) - Brook Street is named after a brook that formed part of the defences of a fortress built on the site of the Friary. Once one of Omagh’s populous streets, it contained the Catholic Church and a fever hospital in the 1800s. There are now no dwellings on this street.
LORETO CONVENT (Omagh trail #11) - The Loreto Convent had its origins in George’s Street while Dublin builder, J. Neville, constructed the present building in 1859. Its gothic design makes it one of the finest buildings in the town. The Chapel has some fine stained glass by Mayer of Munich. Rose Kavanagh, the famous poetess from Killadroy, Beragh, attended the school. She is buried in the graveyard of the Forth Chapel, Augher, where there is a stained glass window in her memory.
JIMMY KENNEDY (Omagh trail #12) - A Plaque on Pretoria Terrace on the Brookmount Road was the birthplace of Jimmy Kennedy (26th July 1902) song writer of many popular songs before and after the second world war, including “Red Sails in the Sunset”, “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”, “The Isle of Capri” and “South of the Border”, to name but a few.
MICHAEL STREET (Omagh trail #13) - is the shortest in Ireland and the owner, a local publican, Michael McGlinchey, built one house.
THIS CACHE IS PLACED OPPOSITE MICHAEL STREET. It is a micro cache and is hidden in the wall. Please be careful when replacing the cache to ensure that it does not fall out of it's hiding spot!
NB: You may need tweezers to retrieve the log from this cache