End of an era with death of prominent Omagh tailor

THE death of local tailor, Pat Cleary, has marked the end of a unique era in the business life of Omagh town stretching back 70 years.

Mr Cleary, who lived at Ardmore Avenue and was aged 88, died on Good Friday and was laid to rest in Drumragh on Saturday morning. A memorial service is expected to take place at a later date for a man synonymous with his native area for many decades.

Born in 1932 and reared in Drumragh, he had carried on his business at George’s Street just opposite the Sacred Heart Church for 50 years. Up until very recently, he could be seen almost daily in the premises adapting clothes for some of the countless people who benefitted over many decades from his expertise.

In a ‘Thursday Interview’ with the UlsterHerald in 2008, he spoke of the remarkable changes that he had witnessed in his profession and the social fabric of the town in which he was so well-known and respected.

“We could make suits, we couldn’t make people,” he said. “You had to be diplomatic and you had to use padding if the customer was a bad shape.”

After receiving his early education at Omagh CBS primary, he left school at the age of 16 to take up a job in Omagh Creamery, grading eggs, pricing butter and doing messages. However, it wasn’t long before he moved to John Street and the employment of McGowan’s tailors.

“I felt it was reasonable to go into tailoring because there were quite a few tailoring establishments at the time and it usually took two men to work on soutanes and surplices.

“There was no such things as ready-mades in those days. Most suits cost £3 and 10 shillings and a pair of braces or socks were thrown in.”

After spending three years learning the trade there, he moved to WJ Johnston. Tragedy struck the family in 1950 when his father, John, and four other local men – John Cassidy, John McCrory, Dan McCrory and Charles Flanagan – were killed by a train while working on railway tracks at Omagh station on a foggy morning.

He later moved back to McGowan’s, but then, like so many others in the 1950s, emigrated to London to work in a firm of tailors. He sharpened his skills by undertaking classes at the Tailor and Cutter Academy, where he was trained to make suits, jackets, trousers and waistcoats.

In the late 1950s, he moved back to Omagh to open his own business at what’s now Old Market Place, before moving to the premises at George’s Street in 1970.

“Tailoring was a solitary and tedious job and quite meticulous,” he recalled. “If I had it all to do again, I wouldn’t have gone a different direction. I might have become a policeman or had another uniformed job.”

As well as being a renowned tailor, he was also equally well respected for his talents as a Pipe Major. After learning to play with the famous Sixmilecross Pipe Band, he went on to play with a succession of bands, including Tummery Pipe Band and St Laurence’s Pipe Band in Fintona.

He led many events, including the St Patrick’s Day parade, played accordion at a memorable pilgrimage to Corradina Mass Rock attended by 12,000 people in September 1974.

Pat was also a regular contributor over the years to concerts locally, singing and play traditional songs and tunes.

In 1960, he was involved in a production of Oklahoma in Omagh Town Hall and in 1982, he performed with his son in a production by Omagh Workshop Theatre. He was also one of the ‘Farmers and Cowpokes’ in a performance of the ‘Stage Coach’ by Omagh Players in 1981.

Mr Cleary is survived by his wife, Mary, and children Maria (Cafboult), John, Bernadette (Cummings), Patrick, James, Carmel (McConnell) and brother James.