Festive fun returns to Omagh

A MAJOR Saturday night event marking the switching-on of Omagh’s Christmas lights is being planned for this year, after the local council’s controversial decision to axe the popular ceremony last winter.

There was a flood of angry criticism after Fermanagh and Omagh District Council decided against holding the event, which regularly attracts thousands of people to the town, in 2022.

Last year’s decision was blamed on financial pressures caused by the cost-of-living crisis, but provoked hundreds of complaints by parents and town centre traders.

Last Tuesday night, the local council agreed to bring back the switch-on at the end of November, at a cost estimated to be in the region of £43,000.

There will also be a series of other initiatives aimed at attracting more people to the town over the festive season.

These include a ‘Live ‘n Local’ music programme and Christmas-themed events and experiences.

This week, councillors recommended that the traditional Christmas lights switch-on for its main towns of Omagh and Enniskillen should get the green light.

But the meeting of its Regeneration and Committee also passed a proposal to carry out a review of its Christmas spending, and raised the possibility of cutting future costs by purchasing artificial or reusable Christmas trees for local villages.

Colm Broderick, president of Omagh Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the decision to hold the Christmas lights switch-on event, describing it as “absolutely fantastic”.

“My ethos has always been that the Christmas lights switch-on provides many happy memories for families, and especially the children,” he said.

“We have missed out on that last year and during the pandemic, so it’s great that people will now get the opportunity again to sample that ‘feel good factor’ in the run-up to Christmas.”

Mr Broderick also said that efforts are being made by the Chamber to work with Translink to extend its town centre bus service to later at night over the festive period.

He said that both this and the Christmas lights switch-on would encourage people to stay in the town and provide a welcome boost to commerce and hospitality locally.

Omagh town councillor, Barry McElduff, said the decision ‘demonstrated’ that the council was listening to what local people were saying.

“This decision follows on from last year and it’s great that there will be a Christmas lights switch-on event in the town in 2023,” he said.

“It is very important that this is communicated to the people of the area. The Christmas lights switch-on and other events will help the town centres.”

DUP councillor, Errol Thompson, said the event was needed to lift the ‘doom and gloom’.

Mr Thompson added, “We need to be singing from the rooftops that the Christmas lights switch-on is going ahead in 2023.”