Old Omagh friends reminisce about growing up in Cannondale

WITH the first four houses in Cannondale built in 1955, four of the first residents to move into the area – three of whom still live there today – have been reflecting on their fondest memories of life in the estate.

Pat Tierney, Lawrence Eccles, Eugene Donnelly and Hugh Gormley all moved into Cannondale in the late 1950s.

Pat, now 75, was only five-years-old when he came to Cannondale from Killyclogher.

He remembers that when his family first arrived, there were just four houses, each with a large family. Between them, around 50 children lived in the small cluster of homes.

Still a proud Cannondale resident, Pat described it as a great place to grow up.

“We didn’t have the play park in our day like the children have now, just a big patch of green grass, but it was a great place for everyone to mix and play together. It was great to move here from Killyclogher as I had the town in front of me and the countryside behind me. All I would have to do is leg it over the fence, and away up the field I would go where, on many a day, I would pitch a tent and light a fire. It was also great in a social sense to move into the town at that age.”

Lawrence recalled how, in the early days, Cannondale became a hotspot for football.

“We had the Dale Dodgers team in those days and the green was famous for football. Many a great player came out of here, including Pat Sharkey, who went on to play for Ipswich and Northern Ireland. You also had the Bonners, the McDaids and Pat McGlynn playing regularly. Many great times were had kicking about on the green.”

The four men fondly remembered boys from nearby Festival Park coming down to join the games.

“There was no such thing as one religion or another back then,” Pat said. “We just played football together and made many great friendships, some that still hold up to this day.”

Even during the worst of the Troubles, Cannondale remained relatively peaceful. “Nobody ever stuck up flags or painted kerbs or any of that carry-on,” he added.

Alongside memories of camping and football, Hugh remembered a special moment for local children – when the Rush family became the first in the area to own a colour television.

“It was probably the late ’50s or early ’60s. I can remember all the kids crowding around their front window, peering in to get a look at it for the first time. That was a big thing back then, and thinking back to the innocence of it all, it’s incredible to think what we take for granted nowadays.”