Fintona

The Fintona horse tram circa 1930

Possibly the most well known bit of history associated with Fintona was the horse-drawn tram (or "van" to the locals) that took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction station one mile away. The name of the horse was always "Dick" regardless of gender. First class and second class passengers travelled inside while third class travellers sat exposed to the elements on the top.

The tram made its last trip on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed, and with it, Fintona's rail links to the rest of Ireland. When retired, it was the second last existing example of a horse-drawn tram in public service in the British Isles, the only remaining one now being on Douglas promenade, Isle of Man. The "van" now lies at the Ulster Transport Museum.

The legacy of the horse tram's service and identity to Fintona can be seen with the unique road signs welcoming you into the village, which includes an image or silhouette of the horsetram with "Dick" pulling the tram along with the driver, conductor and a third person on board on the top of the tram.

Located 33 miles (53 km) from the Atlantic coastline, Fintona has an Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). Winters are normally cool to mild with morning frosts being a common occurrence, especially with settled weather. Summers are usually cool to moderate with high temperatures normally around the upper teens, with the warmest temperatures of the season rarely peaking at less than 24 degrees Celsius.

Rainfall is common throughout the year with the wettest months between October and January, and the driest months being April and May. Rainfall in the later autumn, winter and early spring tends to fall as prolonged light or moderate showers while heavier, shorter bursts mixed with dry or sunny spells are more common in the summer months; in between these periods during the months of April, May, & September both kinds of showers can happen as conditions change quickly, with "four seasons in a day" weather often occurring.

Sleet and snow showers happen occasionally, usually falling between the months of December and March though it can fall any time between October and May. Snow accumulation usually happens several times each year, though it rarely lies for more than three of four days and sometimes only for a few hours.

Farming plays a key role in the economy of Fintona. Much of this is cattle based involved meat and milk production, with some sheep rearing particularly on higher ground. There are also some pig and chicken farms in the area. The land and climate does not lend itself to arable farming, but in the past some maize was grown, being produced to boost the protein of cattle feed. On higher ground near the summit of Murley Mountain, there are also peat bogs.

Fintona has its own branch library that was originally opened in the early 1980s in a prefabricated building in Ecclesville Park before moving to its current location on Main Street in 1991.

In early 2011 the library was one of ten marked down by Libraries NI for closure, who claimed that the library was one of the least used in Northern Ireland and that the roof of the building required repair at a significant cost.[41] A public consultation meeting in Fintona Golf Club on 3 March that year saw a strong local turn out calling for the retention of the library, while representations were also made to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.[42][43]

On 20 October 2011, Libraries NI announced that the Fintona branch library would remain open while efforts were made to either improve its current premises or find an alternative location in due course.[44] It was confirmed in July 2013 that the library building would receive a full refurbishment.[45]

The only public transport available is an Ulsterbus bus service provided by Translink that connects Fintona to Omagh (Service No. 87). Seven services run on weekdays and five on Saturdays. There is no service on Sundays.[46]

Fintona had been connected to the railway network via Fintona and Fintona Junction stations on the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway's horse-drawn spur line as mentioned in the history section above. These stations opened in the 1850s, but were closed in October 1957.

Fintona Golf Club

Fintona Golf Club was founded in 1904 by C.W.L. Brown-Lecky and is located on part of the Ecclesville Demense.[47] It is a nine-hole course which have twin tees allowing players a different challenge on their second time round. Ronan Rafferty rated it the best nine-hole course in Northern Ireland in a feature on the TV programme 'Ronan Rafferty's Great Golf Journeys'.[48] The course includes a club house and a bar with a function room and catering facilities.[49] In September 2021 the club won the All-Ireland AIG Women's Challenge Cup at Shandon Park in Belfast after defeating Gort in the Final.[50]

Fintona Pearses GAA club was founded in late 1916 and first played competitive Gaelic football games a year later. There was already a GAA club in Fintona at the time, the Davitts, which was founded in 1907 and won the Tyrone Senior Football Championship in 1914[51] but the Davitts folded not long after the Pearses club started, whom themselves went on to win a Tyrone SFC title in 1938. The current club is based at its own grounds just outside the town on the Tattymoyle Road in the townland of Tonnaghbane, named St. Lawrence's Park which has undergone substantial redevelopment since the early 1990s which today includes two full-size pitches (one with floodlights), a smaller training pitch, a clubhouse with four changing rooms and two stands (one roofed). Gaelic Football teams are fielded at adult & underage levels along with hurling teams at underage levels. A Ladies Gaelic Football club of the same name, fielding teams at adult and underage levels, also play their games at the same ground.

Fintona Swifts are a Junior Football Club that was originally founded in the early 1990s and affiliated to the Fermanagh & Western FA. Up until the 2010/11 season the team did not have a home ground in the village and was forced to play their 'home' games elsewhere, normally in Omagh. After years of discussions and stalling, the club finally had a permanent home in Fintona with a pitch based at the Ecclesville Demense opened in August 2010. In August 2015, the club was disbanded after withdrawing from the Fermanagh & Western Football League, a lack of player numbers cited as the reason for folding.[52] A year later, the club was reformed and in its first season back won the Fermanagh & Western Division 3 League.[53] A reserve team was reintroduced at the start of the 2019/20 season. For the 2021/22 season the first team will play in Division 2[54] of the Fermanagh and Western Football League while the reserve team will play in the corresponding Reserve Division 3[55] as well as entering the Fermanagh and Western FA Mulhern & Rehill cup competitions, and the IFA Junior Cup.

Based within the grounds of the Ecclesville Demense, opened in 1995 the Ecclesville Centre is unique in the UK and Ireland in being a combined equestrian and community/leisure complex. The facility has proven popular not only among show jumpers and horse riders, but also for other sporting activities especially those based indoors. The equestrian end of the centre includes stables, an indoor arena with judges box and seated stand, and an outdoor facility that includes an outdoor floodlight arena, open parkland and the forest of the Ecclesville Demense. The leisure part of the centre includes a minor hall, a sports hall, changing rooms and a fitness suite with outdoor all-weather tennis courts also available. The centre is a popular venue for local and regional sports competitions including bowls, badminton and indoor football. At a community level the centre is the home of Fintona Cross-Community Youth Club and also a local Sure Start centre. The centre is also capable of holding children's parties with catering facilities & an inflatable bouncy castle.

The centre has also been the venue for several special events and exhibitions since the early 2000s which have proven popular locally and beyond including farm machinery, sport & modified cars, transport, home & garden, and music concerts. The Northern Ireland National Charolais Show has in recent years been an annual fixture at the centre[56] as has the Omagh and District Canine Club Dog Show.

The main public park in Fintona is at the Ecclesville Demesne, known as Ecclesville Park. The park itself has a play-area for children and all-weather football & basketball area used alongside the Ecclesville Centre, alongside walking routes, pond and forest. In 2014 additional work was done which extended the play-area and also added an outdoor gym.

There are also children's play-areas at Mill Street, Ashfield Gardens and Denamona Court.

Fintona lies in the Catholic parish of Donacavey, which is a part of the Catholic Diocese of Clogher.[57] There is a single church serving the parish called St. Lawrence's, which is located outside the village next to Lisdergan Road.[58] The church also has two nearby graveyards named "St. Peter's and St. Paul's" and "St. Lawrence's", as well as a church hall called St. Patrick's that is located on Main Street in the village.

A Christian Brethren group is based at Fintona Gospel Hall, located on the edge of the village on the Loughmuck Road.[59]

Fintona lies in the parish of Donacavey, which is a part of the Church of Ireland Diocese of Clogher.[60] The parish church is located next to the Ecclesville Road with a church hall lying across the same road, opposite the church.

The church parish of Donacavey contains only part of the civil parish of Donacavey; the south western corner of the civil parish is served by a separate parish of Barr that has its own parish church. However, both parishes are covered by the same rector whom serves "Donacavey and Barr".[61]

Fintona Methodist Church lies on the Craigavon Road, next to the Fintona Presbyterian Church. It is part of the Omagh and Fintona circuit in the North Western district of the Methodist Church in Ireland.[62]

Fintona Independent Methodist Church is located on Kiln Street and is an outreach ministry from its parent church in Omagh.[63] It is part of the Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches based in Northern Ireland.[64]

Fintona Presbyterian Church lies on the Craigavon Road next to the Fintona Methodist Church. A church hall lies behind the church building. It is part of the Omagh Presbytery[65] in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.[66]

On Census day (27 March 2011)[72] there were 1,164 people living in Fintona, accounting for 0.06% of the Northern Ireland total. Of these:

• 17.10% were aged under 16 years and 16.41% were aged 65 and over.
• 40 years was the average (median) age of the population.
• 52.32% of the usually resident population were female and 47.68% were male.
• 72.16% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 26.55% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations.
• 35.22% indicated that they had an Irish national identity, 33.42% had a Northern Irish national identity and 31.62% had a British national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity).
• 15.56% had some knowledge of Irish and 3.15% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots. 4.05% did not have English as their first language (considering the populations aged 3 years old and over).
• 8.07% of the population aged 16 to 74 years old were unemployed.

On Census day (29 April 2001)[73] there were 1,359 people living in Fintona. Of these:

• 24.95% were aged under 16 years and 13.02% were aged 65 and over.
• 34 years was the average (median) age of the population.
• 51.66% of the usually resident population were female and 48.34% were male.
• 72.26% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 27.08% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations.
• 11.73% had some knowledge of Irish.
• 5.94% of the population aged 16 to 74 years old were unemployed.

Records from the census conducted in 1911 and published in 1913[74] revealed the population of Fintona to be 1,107 in 1901 and 1,100 in 1911.

The population of the village of Fintona measured in the census between 1841 and 1891 varied slightly overall, with a peak of 1,504 persons in 1851 and a low of 1,271 in 1891. In the remainder of the Parish of Donacavey, population figures fell continuously from that recorded in 1841.[75][76][77][78]

¹ Refers to population in the part of Donacavey that lay in the Barony of Clogher, excluding Fintona village.
² Refers to population in the part of Donacavey that lay in the Barony of Omagh East.