Focus on Fintona: Investment can make village thrive once more

“What is good about Fintona?” Newsagent Mo McConnell asked herself.

Mo McConnell

“It’s a great community and they really get together. They won the Junior Championship in the Gaelic and the town has been buzzing since. It has been really positive for the town and brought everybody together.

“There was a bit of partying on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday but they’ve to settle down now for training on Friday night.”

The shop is quite simply a treasure trove, with all sorts of items in it.

Giving a tour of the shop, Ms McConnell pointed out various items: “A little lady leaves this stuff in, crochet things, to be sold.”

Ms McConnell paused our interview to serve a customer, who she greeted by name and shared a joke and smile with.

Her favourite customers include the children and young people who flock to the shop for sweets, including ‘Mo’s Mix’ – which was devised during the Covid-19 pandemic when children were unable to enter the shop but still wanted a few treats.

She said: “The children weren’t allowed in during Covid, and it was awful, it was wild sad.

“The children actually do make it up [to the shop], all the whole primary schools come in, then the secondary – the place is rammed.”

 

Fintona attracts many people from the surrounding areas to do their shopping, including Beverley Fulton who said the community is “very caring”.

“Do you know this, when I come into Fintona, everyone is very, very friendly, everyone is very helpful, and I go home a lot happier person,” she added.

Behind the counter in Deazley Meats was Eric Deazley, a Dromore man who set up his business in the village 25 years ago after marrying a Fintona woman.

Eric and Margo Deazley

He agreed and said the best thing in the area is the “community spirit”.

“Everybody has your back, there is no real badness. It doesn’t get well reported, the town itself, but we are a tight-knit community.”

Referencing some of the empty shop fronts in the street of what was once a thriving village, Mr. Deazley said: “We absolutely need investment – we need the Main Street tidied up a bit, and more businesses in it.

“We had banks, a post office, we had flower shops. It was very busy, but it’s gone downhill, like everything else.

“There are more houses coming up, so maybe more shops should think about investing in Fintona.”

His wife, Margo, arrived at the shop.

“Born and reared” in the village, she also paid tribute to the community spirit in Fintona.

“The people come together. If there is an incident or anything tragic happens in the town, the way they come together, every side mixes – they mix so, so, well,” she said.

“You go out to the school – we have so many different communities and people out there, and it is what it is, and as long as you’re not an ol’ eejit, you’re accepted.

“It is all cross-community; every other couple is [in a] mixed marriage, and they all get on so well.”

Referencing one of the issues facing the area, Mrs. Deazley said: “The only bother we have in Fintona, in terms of even crime, is we get such a bad rap in the papers.”

She continued: “It is used in Enniskillen courts as an address, and [court copy] will say ‘a Fintona man’, instead of saying ‘an Enniskillen man who is on bail to Fintona’.”

She too alluded to the pride in the area at the moment with the arrival of the Pat D’Arcy Cup in Fintona following the win over Drumragh. With a smile, she said: “Everyone is proud to be from Fintona this week!”

Aiden McCarney

Down the street, Aiden McCarney was stacking the fridge in his shop, McCarney’s Vivo Essentials.

The McCarney family have been part of village life in Fintona for some time – 60 years, in fact – and are proud of their association.

When asked what the good things are about his home village, Mr. McCarney said: “It has got the most fantastic park, got the most fantastic golf course, got the most fantastic people, and great community spirit.

“It has everything you need in a small town. Local people supporting local people.”He referenced one issue he has faced with the town. “The only thing about Fintona is parking is very poor at the minute.”

Richard Keys

With his jeep idling, Richard Keys leaned in for a chat and recalled the grand old days of “the thriving town” that Fintona was.

“There’s not as many shops as there used to be. My mother and father had a shop for 50 years in Fintona, and on a Saturday night they never closed until around 11 or half 11, it was that busy.”

Many things have changed, including what is on offer in the town. Mr. Keys detailed some of the main attractions that were present back in the day in Fintona.

“There were two picture houses in the town – now, it’s all television.

“One of the cinemas was at the foot of the town here, and the second was where the fire station is.”

When asked if there is a good community in the area, he said, simply: “There is, aye.”

On the outskirts of the village was Aaron McFarland (inset, left) and although he was raised in Trilick, he has made Fintona his home.

“The people are friendly, there is a sense of community in people.”

He referenced the popular Eccclesville Centre which has helped attract people to visit the area.

“It’s reaching out to people through the equine centre, which reaches out to people from different walks of life.”

Reflecting on the town’s history, he said: “It’s like every other town, and you look into its history. Mr. Eccles bought that whole area and now it is a centre, and there is a great history. There used to be a forge in Fintona.”

Suggesting that village life is still a vital part of the fabric of rural parts of Northern Ireland, Mr. McFarland added: “There is still a place for the small town with its greengrocers, a newsagent, a car wash, a hardware shop, hairdressers, and a library.”