West Tyrone Sinn Fein Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Reflections on a year as Omaghs First Citizen

Published: 29 June, 2009

Sinn Fein Omagh town councillor and outgoing chairman of Omagh District Council. Marty McColgan recently to reflected on the main events and achievements of the past year during his term in office.

How has your year as first citizen of Omagh been?

At the time, I described it as a privilege to be asked to serve as first citizen of the Omagh District Council area and I undertook to serve everyone in the district to the best of my ability. I also undertook to promote Omagh and its environs at every possible opportunity. I hope that I have lived up to my commitment and I have certainly enjoyed the challenge which the post has provided.

I remember my first engagement was an interview with Hugo Duncan who had come to Omagh with the BBC Roadshow to unveil the Railway memorial Garden on the Dromore Road so that was a memorable introduction to life in the "Chair". My final engagement was to greet the hurling team from Warwickshire who were here to play Tyrone.

As I'm sure with all the previous Chairs, my term in office has been very busy but also very enjoyable. I suppose no one can properly prepare you for the demands of the office, it really is something which has to be experienced and certainly give you a better understanding of diverse range of services and events that Omagh District Council is involved in.

What events or initiatives were you involved in over your year in office?

Throughout the year there have seen several auspicious events. The 10th Anniversary Service of the Omagh Bomb together with the official opening of the Memorial Garden was a very important and, perhaps, defining moment of my year in the Chair. There is no doubt that the culmination of several years of preparatory work and discussion in seeking agreement on the design and narrative for the "Garden of Light" has left the people of Omagh with a quiet and reflective place to remember those who lost their lives or sustained emotional and physical hurt as a result of the Omagh bomb. To see the many months of hard work which went into preparations for the service come together so seamlessly on the day was an endorsement of the diligence and ability of the staff and not even the terrible weather could detract from what was a respectful and reflective event.

Another significant event was the launch of the Visioning Framework and Town Centre Masterplan.

Through the "Towards a City Vision for 2025" document, the Council outlined its plan for the future development of Omagh from a social, environmental and economic perspective. This dovetailed well with the Town Centre Masterplan which has as its focus the regeneration of the Town Centre. And I was delighted to jointly open the Public Services Centre in the Town Centre, which, I believe, has been very successful and is proving to be an excellent link between the people of the District and the Council offices.

I also had the honour of accepting the keys to the newly refurbished Leisure Centre incorporating the new DEC. Since opening in February, I am delighted to be able to report that the DEC has proved to be enormously successful and has vindicated the outlay on this state-of-the-art facility. The Leisure Centre also played host to Indie pop Royalty with the visit of 80's icon Morrissey, who provided the capacity crowd with a superb show.

The Council, in partnership with other elected representatives, have lobbied hard to secure the former military lands at St Lucia and Lisanelly. That work has continued during my term of office and I was only too glad to lend whatever support the office of Chairman could bring to bear on the many visiting dignitaries in an attempt to secure their support for our vision of the future. This is a subject that is important to me living in such close proximity to these sites.

Indeed, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, to Omagh in August and I took the opportunity to appraise him of the benefits of the site, not only for the people of the Omagh District but also the potential as a key regional resource for the North West of the island. Such development of this very important asset would also unlock significant potential for cross border cooperation.

I also had the privilege of welcoming several Stormont ministers to the Council Offices. The Deputy first Minister Martin McGuinness as well as Ministers Wilson, Ritchie, and Ruane were all guests of the Council at various stages during my term as was the MP for West Tyrone Pat Doherty. I also had the opportunity to welcome President Mary McAleese to the Omagh District during her visit in April. Of course there were many other representatives and officials who visited the area and whom I met on less formal terms.

What are the memories from your year in office that you will look back on?

Of course, Sam Maguire returned home to Tyrone during my term in office and like my predecessors Councillor Rainey and the late Councillor McAnespie, I had the honour of addressing the crowd on its return to the County Town on the day following their victory and that certainly was one of the high points of my year.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the staff in the Chief Executive's department, for ensuring that travel arrangements were such that I could attend the final as I was part of a civic visit to our twin town of L'Hay-Les-Roses on the weekend of the all Ireland final. But thanks to the staff we were all back in Dublin that morning in plenty of time for the match.

Of course with the success of the Minor team, Tyrone became only the third county in the history of the GAA to win both the Sam Maguire and the Tom Markham Trophies in the same year and I had the privilege of hosting a reception for both teams in the council offices.

There were also highlights on the sporting front, the district once again played host to two stages of Rally Ireland in January. The event proved to be both enjoyable and successful and I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to all involved with the event. The Loreto Grammar School U-16 Football team retained their All Ireland title. I also had the honour of starting the Omagh Half Marathon now in its ninth year, which has evolved, not only as a race which attracts the top runners, but also as a fun event for all the family and I was amazed at the sheer numbers who took part.

With the St Patrick's Day festival proving to be such a major success, we now have four street festivals in our ever developing festival portfolio and we should be extremely proud of their continued popularity. I was delighted to preside at all four events in my term of office and I believe that this Council offers a tremendously mix of festival service to the people of the District. However, it is their continued participation which makes the four events such a wonderful success. Indeed when I walked over the brow of the hill at SuperValu on St Patrick 's Day I could not believe the sheer size of the crowd and I hope that next years events are all as successful.

The outdoor festivals are supplemented by two excellent indoor festivals, the long established Mid Ulster Drama Festival, and the Mid Ulster Film Festival which is a relative newcomer to the arts calendar. I had the great pleasure of attending the closing night of the Mid-Ulster Drama Festival. The play that evening was the Omagh Players production of one flew over the cuckoos nest and I found it to be a very enjoyable event. It is not only very important from an artistic perspective; it is also a very useful economic addition attracting visitors to the Mid Tyrone area from all over the country. I am delighted that Omagh District Council is such a staunch supporter of both events and I would urge you to continue our support.

What have been the high points of the year?

My year in office has had many high points. I particularly enjoyed having the opportunity to receive visitors to the Council offices by means of the various receptions which took place over the year. This year, I was delighted to mark the 80th birthday of Brian Friel by hosting a reception in his honour.

However one on my earliest receptions will certainly live long in my memory. I received a delegation which had come to these islands as part of the World Simmental Congress, I must confess to knowing very little about agricultural matters, and cattle in particular. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the two hours I spent with my guests and was very grateful for the support of some of our local farming representatives who helped steer me through the event.

Another event which springs to mind was addressing a convention of the Woman's Institute I don't believe that I'm easily intimidated, however sitting in a room with 300 Women and only Wesley Acheson and Bertie Pollock as moral support was certainly a very daunting experience. I have to say however, that it was a very enjoyable event.

As I said the most enjoyable role as Chairman of the Council is hosting civic receptions and honouring people from the district on their achievements and during the year I have hosted many events covering a wide range of people and a wide range of achievements.

How were relations in the council under your stewardship?

Of course being political representatives with differing perspectives on many issues we do not always see eye to eye on every thing.

There is an excellent working relationship between the parties and the councillors when it comes to matters of general concern or benefit of the district.

As I alluded to earlier, when I was initially installed as Chairman, I undertook to do my utmost to represent the people of the Omagh District and I'm believe that I have done my best to live by that commitment. I also listed continued support for the Community Sector as a priority and I believe I have delivered on both objectives.

I wish the incoming Chair every good wish for the year and I'm confident that they will gain the same sense of fulfilment and enjoyment which I have experienced. I will be only too happy to offer them the same support that was accorded to me.

To the ladies and gentlemen of the press, can I extend my sincere gratitude for your coverage of the work of the Council during my term of office. And especially to the photographers who became almost like extended family members going from function to function and many times relied on them to help sort out and straighten the chain of office.

On a more personal note I would like to thank my family who were very supportive of me during my year in the Chair. I also lost my mother a few weeks ago and I would like to thank all the members and officers of the council who gave support to me and my family during a very difficult time.

As I said at the beginning it takes something like being in the Chair for a year to really appreciate the amount of work that is undertaken and delivered by the officers of the council in a wide range of fields, and of course the main bulk of work and responsibility falls to the Chief Executive. Danny I know from experience over the past year the commitment and professionalism you bring to your role, I know the immense time and commitment you put into carrying out the duties and direction of Omagh District Council. I believe as a council we are certainly fortunate to have you as our chief Executive and this shines through in the work delivered by the officers of the council and by the excellent management team under your leadership, as chair I have enjoyed working with you and would like to thank you for all you support through the year.