By 
THE St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Omagh look set to get even bigger.
An independent economic assessment estimated that last year’s celebrations were worth around £380,000 to the local economy. Organisers of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Omagh now want to run events over two days, and have asked Fermanagh and Omagh District for an extra £10,000 towards the costs of the extended programme.
Councillors will discuss the request for the additional money at a meeting this evening of the council’s Environmental Services Committee.
The council is also being asked for an extra £10,000 to also extend the St Patrick’s celebrations in Enniskillen across two days.
There was some criticism of the St Patrick’s celebrations in Omagh, with some attendees saying the event was ‘too short’.
Others questioned what connection a Taylor Swift tribute act, who performed as part of the celebrations, had with Ireland or St Patrick.
However, in a report prepared for this evening’s meeting, last year’s celebrations in Omagh and Enniskillen were both described as ‘highly successful’.
“Both events have expanded considerably in scale, profile, and attendance in recent years, supported by strong community participation and positive public feedback.
“Independent economic impact assessment confirms that these events deliver strong returns on Council investment.
“The proposed budget uplifts are therefore presented as strategic investments aligned with the Council’s Events and Festivals Strategy, which aims to focus support for large scale events identified as delivering the greatest social and economic return for the district.”
The report states that the total cost of the St Patrick’s celebrations in Omagh last year was around £33,000.
The council provided £23,000 of this, with the rest coming from sponsorship.
The report adds: “Additional investment would also broaden the programme to include fringe activities, encouraging wider audiences, longer dwell times and stronger regional appeal.
“Without this investment, programme quality and community participation may be compromised, with risks to audience satisfaction, the event’s reputation, and future levels of participation.”
The report added that the extra £20,000 required to support the St Patrick’s events in Omagh and Enniskillen could be met from ‘projected underspends within the 2025/26 Sponsorship Budget’.
