Strathroy 50th anniversary celebrations are in full swing

IF Omagh is Rome, Strathroy is the Vatican City. It is its own entity, with its own history, customs and identity.

It is like a quasi-town within the town – a micro-society that is able to stand on its own two feet.

And this self-sufficiency and independence is something that the people who call Strathroy home are very proud of.

And they should be, because things were not always this way.

In fact, before Strathroy Community Association started campaigning for public amenities, youth programmes and social support in mid-1970s, people who lived in the area had next to nothing.

It was a vast estate filled with people who barely knew each other.

However, 50 years on, such a time of neglect, abandon and unwantedness is hard to imagine.

Instead of fragmenting under the pressures of poverty and state indifference, the people of Strathroy came together. In the hardest of social circumstances, they found strength in each other.

So perhaps it should have come as no surprise when last week the same two words kept coming back to me when I asked people from the park what they found to be the most important feature of life in the locality… ‘community spirit’.

Because it is this that has been the driving force that has transformed Strathroy into the uniquely united place that is is today.

It is community spirit that enabled the birth of the community association, which gave the park a way of harnessing and directing their people power.

It was community spirit that transformed Strathroy from a place with no public amenities, places of worship or youth clubs into somewhere with a better and more complete social infrastructure than anywhere else in Omagh.

For those born into a house in the area today, there is a playpark, football pitch, community centre, school, church, shop, social club and youth group.

As one man told me, ‘there is nothing I need that I cannot find in Strathroy’.

And he is not on his own – there are plenty of people, especially those that are a bit older, who rarely find reason to venture beyond the end of Strathroy Road.

For them, Strathroy is not just a park, it is their world.

It is where they do their shopping. It is where they practice their faith. It is where their children went to school – perhaps even where they got married. And it is where their friends and family are.

So, with all that said, is it any wonder that residents, past and present, have been to celebrating the park’s 50 year anniversary with such enthusiasm this week?

There has been fancy dress, fun days, football matches, old school sporting tournaments, games of bingo, Anniversary Masses, traditional music nights, and, it’s probably safe to say, plenty of craic and carry on in The Glebe Bar.

And we are only about halfway through!

Still to come, tonight (Thursday) at 7pm there will be a commemorative match between players from the current Strathroy Harps side and a team of club legends.

Then, tomorrow, people are invited to Strathroy Community Centre to take a trip down memory lane, where the walls will be adorned with photos from the park’s past.

And finally, on Saturday evening, celebrations will hit terminal velocity for the Strathroy Golden Gala Ball in the Silverbirch Hotel.

The official drinks reception commences at 7pm and will continue until to… well, God only knows…