Strabane

Strabane (Irish, an Srath Bán, The Fair River Valley/White Strand) is a town in the north-west of the island of Ireland. The town is on the western fringe of County Tyrone (Northern Ireland) and straddles the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The historic village of Lifford, County Donegal is just to the west. The River Mourne flows through the centre of the town, and meets with the River Finn to form the River Foyle, which marks the border between the two counties. Strabane suffered huge economic damage in 1987 when much of the centre of the town was flooded. Strabane town stands roughly half-way between Omagh and Derry and had a population of 13,456 people 2001 Census. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council (Comhairle Ceantair an tSrath Bán).

Local Politics

At the last council 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 Brian McMahon (Sinn Féin). The Strabane District Council area covers an area of 861.6 sq km 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.

Recent history

Strabane once had the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, although in recent years the town has recovered to an extent economically. However, the inevitable closure of the town's largest employer, the Adria factory, will see the town plunge into economic chaos with huge ramifications.

Strabane was badly scarred by the Troubles, 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. Dozens of British soldiers met their deaths in the Strabane area and a fewer number of policemen serving in the RUC met the same fate. Many unarmed civilians died during the course of the Troubles, some killed controversially by the British army, others by republican paramilitaries or when caught up in attacks on the security forces.

One notable incident in the Head of the Town area of Strabane during the Troubles occurred in February 1985 when three IRA members, Charlie Breslin (20), David Devine (16) and Michael Devine (22), were killed by a SAS unit as they returned to an arms dump in a field at the back of Fountain Street. The families, many in the local community and across Ireland believed these, and other deaths, were part of a wider British government "shoot-to-kill" policy, where Irish republican paramilitaries were summarily executed without any attempt at arrest. Substantial damages were awarded to the families by the Ministry of Defence on 7 May 2002, as part of a Belfast High Court settlement.

Many regiments from England, Scotland and Wales served in Strabane at various times during the Troubles. As of recently there is no permanent British army presence in the town, although checkpoints and helicopter activity occurs daily. Some nationalists also claim that police brutality and intimidation is still common in the town, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), (successors to the RUC), having little support in Strabane as of yet. With the ongoing reforms of the PSNI and the creation of the Strabane District Policing Partnership this may change in time.

Recent years have seen Strabane, an overwhelmingly nationalist town, become a centre of dissident republican paramilitarism with groups such as the Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA), increasing in membership. "Shows of strength" have been carried out by the RIRA, mainly in the Head of the Town and Ballycolman areas of Strabane, where members of the organisation appear heavily armed with machine guns and rocket launchers. 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. One such robbery at the Ulster Bank in Strabane's Abercorn Square netted £500,000 for the organisation.

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 [1].

Culture

Strabane has seen a revival of Gaelic culture over the last decade. The local Gaelic football team, Strabane Sigersons, and the hurling team, Strabane Seamrogaí, are ever expanding. Hundreds of children attend the local Irish language Gaelscoil and Irish language groups are flourishing. The Sigerson Cup, the All-Ireland colleges cup for Gaelic football, is named after a native of the town, Dr. Sigerson.

One of Strabane's most striking features are five 20ft 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, they were placed at the former British army base at the Donegal border. Affectionately known locally as The Tinneys.

Strabane is twinned with Sioux Falls in South Dakota, USA, and with Zeulenroda in the District of Thuringia, Germany.

Places of interest

The wider area surrounding Strabane is scenic and very attractive with many forests and glens. People come from all over the world to fish in the beautiful River Mourne, including golfing legend Tiger Woods, particularly between Victoria Bridge and Strabane. The town is home to one of Ireland's largest and most picturesque golf courses.

The National Trust owns the Strabane house in which John Dunlap learnt the printing trade. The house has been visited by many famous people, for example 42nd US President Bill Clinton, and is located at the end of the Main Street (An Príomhsráid). Dunlap went on to print the United States Declaration of Independence.

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

2001 Census

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 (29 April 2001) there were 13,456 people living in Strabane. Of these:

• 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
• 93.3% were from a Catholic background and 6.1% were from a Protestant background
• 6.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

Notable Natives

• Flann O'Brien - best known pseudonym of Brian O'Nolan, 20th century Irish satirist and humorist. He also wrote under the pseudonym Myles na gCopalean
• Brian Dooher and Stephen O'Neill - inspirational key members of the 2003 and 2005 all-Ireland winning Tyrone Gaelic football team - Dooher captained the 2005 winning team
• John Dunlap - printer of the United States Declaration of Independence
• Paul Brady - renowned singer songwriter in Ireland and the USA
• Declan Curry - business correspondent on the BBC One Breakfast programme
• Pearse McCauley - IRA member jailed for the killing of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe in 1995 in Adare, County Limerick
• Gerard Ó Dochartaigh - local Gael and Irish language activist. The local Gaelscoil (Irish Language school) is named after Gerard
• Hugo Duncan - affable and popular entertainer. Famous throughout Ireland as the wee man from Strabane.
• Annie Scott Dill Maunder, nee Russell - astronomer

External links

• Strabane's GAA Club
• The Strabane Chronicle
• Strabane District Council

References

• NI Conflict Archive on the Internet
• NI Neighbourhood Information Service

See also

• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• List of villages in Northern Ireland