Strabane

Strabane (IPA: /strəˈbæn/; Irish, An Srath Bán, Fair River Valley or White Strand) is a town in the west of County Tyrone and the north-west of Northern Ireland. The town straddles the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with the town of Lifford, County Donegal, to the west. Strabane is the second largest town in the county. It stands roughly half-way between Omagh and Derry and roughly half-way between Omagh and Letterkenny and has a population of 15,000 people. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council (Comhairle Ceantair an tSratha Báin). The County Town of County Donegal, Lifford, lies on the other side of the River Foyle (across Lifford Bridge), which marks the border between the two counties.

The River Mourne flows through the centre of the town, and meets with the River Finn to form the River Foyle. Strabane suffered huge economic damage in 1987 when much of the centre of the town was flooded.

Strabane is twinned with Zeulenroda in the District of Thuringia, Germany.

1 Recent history
- 1.1 The Troubles
2 Transport
3 Demographics
4 Politics
5 Culture
6 Places of interest
7 People
8 References
9 External links
10 See also

[edit] Recent history

Strabane once had the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. It is one of the most economically deprived towns in the United Kingdom.^[1] The average wage in Strabane is just £233 per week, compared with £320 in Northern Ireland and £349 in the UK.

In August 2005, a Channel 4 television programme presented by property experts Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer, named Strabane as the third worst place to live in the United Kingdom, largely because of the high unemployment rate.^[2] Strabane has however moved out of the top 20 for the 2007 edition.^[3]

The Strabane transmitting station, located in Legfordrum and highly visible on approach to the town, was opened in 1963 to extend the range of UTV transmissions. The town was also noted on the old UTV logo that featured a rough representation of major towns in Northern Ireland.

[edit] The Troubles

Main article: The Troubles in Strabane

Strabane was scarred by the Troubles, (it was once known as the most bombed town in Europe per size since the Second World War)^[4] beginning in the early 1970s and continuing throughout much of the 1990s, with bombings commonplace and Irish Republican paramilitary groups, mainly the Provisional Irish Republican Army, regularly attacking the bases of both the British army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) located in the town. Many British soldiers, RUC officers and civilians met their deaths in Strabane and the surrounding, predominantly rural, area. Some civilians were killed controversially by the British army, others by republican paramilitaries in deliberate attacks or when caught up in attacks on the security forces.

Strabane Main Street.

Many army regiments from England, Scotland and Wales served in Strabane at various times during the Troubles, but there is no longer any permanent British army presence in the town.

Both the Ballycolman and Head of the Town areas suffered greatly from deprivation, unemployment and the troubles, with riots, shootings and bomb incidents in the area commonplace as well as confrontations between British Forces and the local population, especially throughout the 1970s and 80s.^{[citation needed]} Recent times however have seen an upturn for the area with Development agencies and community organisations setting up new centres of activity for adults and young people - including a new "multi-purpose community centre" in Fountain Street. Work schemes have also been effective in alleviating unemployment in the area^{[citation needed]} and refurbishing homes as well as transforming the local environment.^{[citation needed]}

The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) has carried out many high-profile armed robberies at locations such as banks and supermarkets in the town since 2001, which have tailed off since a BBC Northern Ireland Spotlight documentary highlighted the events in December 2004, although another robbery involving hostage taking occurred in October 2006.^[5] One such robbery at the Ulster Bank in Strabane's Abercorn Square netted £500,000 for the organisation.^[6]^[7]

Strabane has recently become involved in the Ulster Project International, sending Catholic and Protestant teenagers to the United States for prejudice-reduction work.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Transport

The town once boasted one of the busiest rail connections on the island. This fell into disuse over time, although an old railway building still stands in the town.

In 1792 the four mile (6 km) Strabane Canal was constructed from the tidal waters of Lough Foyle at Leck, to Strabane. The canal fell into disuse in 1962. In June 2006 the Strabane Lifford Development Commission awarded a £1.3m cross-border waterways restoration contract. The project was launched by President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, in Lifford and involves the restoration of one and a half miles of canal and two locks to working order. Work was due to start on the Lough Foyle side of the canal in the summer of 2006 but it never happened.

[edit] Demographics

Strabane is classified as a Medium Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day on April 29, 2001 there were 13,456 people living in Strabane. by mid 2006 the towns population has grown to over 15,000. Of these:

99.3% classed their ethnic group as white
93.3% were from a Catholic background and 6.1% were from a Protestant background
43.6% of people aged 16-74 were economically inactive
6.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed
15.6% of people aged 16-59 were claiming incapacity benefit
27.6% were aged under 16 years and 13.7% were aged 60 and over
48.1% of the population were male and 51.9% were female

[edit] Politics

At the local elections in May 2005, members of Strabane District Council were elected from the following political parties: 8 Sinn Féin, 3 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 2 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and 1 Independent Nationalist. The current Council Chairman is Councillor Gerard Foley (Sinn Féin). The Strabane District Council area covers an area of 861.6 km² and according to the 2001 Census, the council area had a total population of 38,250.

Pat Doherty, of Sinn Féin, is the local Member of Parliament for the constituency of West Tyrone.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Sport

The local Gaelic football team, Strabane Sigersons, and the hurling team, Strabane Seamrogaí, are ever expanding.^{[citation needed]} The Sigerson Cup, the All-Ireland colleges cup for Gaelic football, is named after a native of the town, Dr. Sigerson.

[edit] Education

Strabane has an Irish language medium school named Naiscoil an tSratha Bain (the pre-school), which was founded in 1994, and a Gaelscoil (primary school). Other Irish Language Groups including Conradh na Gaeilge and Gaelphobal are also active in the Strabane District.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Music and arts

CRAIC (Cultural Revival Among Interested Communities) a cross border, cross community group provide music lessons to both adults and children on a voluntary basis in the local Irish language Gaelscoil on Tuesday evenings. The Barret School of Irish Dancing has produced some of Irelands best Irish Dancers,^{[citation needed]} and the local theatre group, The Puddle Alley Players, has won several awards over the years in several amateur dramatic competitions.^{[citation needed]}

Strabane also boasts two brass bands; Strabane Concert Brass, 5 times National Champions, as well as St Josephs Brass Band. Accordion bands also had been a feature of the culture in Strabane in the past, with the Mourne Accordion Band and Tom P Mullan Accordion Band. These were succeeded by the Oliver Plunket Band which survived until 2005. The town is currently represented by the Tom P Mullan Memorial Accordion Band, which was formed in 2006.

Strabane also has a flute band, The Strabane Memorial Flute Band, which attends Republican Parades and similar events throughout Ireland, Scotland and the USA.

One of Strabane's most notable features are five 20 ft (6.1 m) steel structures: two dancers, a fiddle player on the Lifford side, a flute player on the Strabane side and a drummer in the middle. Designed by Maurice Harron,^[8] they were placed at the former British army base at the Donegal border. Affectionately known locally as The Tinneys.^[9]

[edit] Places of interest

The wider area surrounding Strabane has many scenic forests and glens,^{[citation needed]} and angling and fishing tourism is popular in the River Mourne, particularly between Victoria Bridge and Strabane. Golfing legend Tiger Woods fished this stretch of the river in a recent visit. The town is home to one of Ireland's largest golf courses.

The National Trust owns the Strabane house in which John Dunlap learnt the printing trade. Dunlap went on to print the United States Declaration of Independence. The house has been visited by several famous people, including former US President Bill Clinton. It is located at the end of the Main Street.

Nearby Strabane is Dergalt, the ancestral home of Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States.

[edit] People

Paul Brady - singer songwriter
Flann O'Brien - best known pseudonym of Brian O'Nolan, 20th century Irish satirist and humorist. He also wrote under the pseudonym Myles na gCopaleen
William Burke - 19th century serial killer, from Urney, a Strabane townland
Declan Curry - business correspondent on the BBC One Breakfast programme
Brian Dooher and Stephen O'Neill - key members of the 2003 and 2005 all-Ireland winning Tyrone Gaelic football team
Hugo Duncan - popular entertainer known as the wee man from Strabane.
John Dunlap - printer of the United States Declaration of Independence
Pearse McCauley - IRA member jailed for the killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe^[10]
Gerard Ó Dochartaigh - Irish language activist for whom the local Gaelscoil (Irish Language school) is named
Dr George Sigerson - Gaelic activist and namesake of the Sigerson Cup
Annie Scott Dill Maunder, nee Russell - astronomer.
Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, was of Ulster-Scots descent on both sides of his family. He was the grandson of a printer from Dergalt, near Strabane, whose former home is open to visitors.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

v • d • e Major towns in Northern Ireland

Towns	Antrim · Ballymena · Banbridge · Bangor · Carrickfergus · Coleraine · Cookstown · Craigavon · Dundonald · Enniskillen · Holywood · Larne · Limavady · Lurgan · Newtownabbey · Newtownards · Omagh · Portadown · Strabane

Categories: Towns in County Tyrone

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Strabane

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