By 
THE 75th anniversary of Omagh’s worst ever railway tragedy will be marked next month with a number of special commemorative events.
On the morning of November 24, 1950, five men working on the track were killed by a train coming from Derry.
The tragedy happened just outside Omagh railway station.
The five men killed were Charlie Flanagan, Dan McCrory, John Cassidy, John Cleary and John McCrory.
Several thousand people later attended their funerals and the shock and sadness of their tragic deaths is still remembered and felt by their relatives and many others in the town 75 years later.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is intending to mark the anniversary by re-installing a line of track from the Great Northern Railway close to the scene of the tragedy.
Five years ago, on the 70th anniversary of the tragedy, relatives of the five men who were killed laid wreaths in their memory at a special ceremony.
Between them the five railway men left 19 children without a father.
The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) at Whitehead has supplied the six-metre long stretch of track which will form the centrepiece of a display marking the 75th anniversary.
“It is our pleasure to assist the council on this valuable initiative and we hope that this memorial will help raise awareness of the town’s rich railway history,” said Dermot Mackie, the RPSI site officer.
“We cut the rail into two short sections to suit the requirements of the display and made sure that the chairs, which hold the rail in place, were suitable.
“We were particularly pleased that we were able to source genuine GNR track material as this will add to the authenticity of the memorial, given that the it was the Great Northern Railway which operated the Omagh line.”
