Focus on Rosslea: Community spirit remains high in resilient village

But with that resilience comes a great community spirit, and the local place where this spirit is perhaps most evident is Shamrock Park.

State-of-the-art facilities in the pitches, including a new 4G pitch, and a flood-lit walkwayare just some of the amenities offered by the club.

Seamus McMahon at Shamrock Park

Roslea Shamrocks GAC committee member, Seamus McMahon, was looking out over the facilities on a mild December morning when The Impartial Reporter stopped by.

“From the football club’s perspective, we have put community facilities in place for all the community, whether you are football-orientated or not, you can use these facilities.

“Whether it’s the 4G or the 1,800-metre walkway, that’s been a huge boost for the community.

“If we hadn’t done that, our leisure facilities, our recreational facilities would have been few and far between.”

There was a huge buy-in from the local community for the facilities, explained Mr. McMahon.

“Three million pounds over 11 years – it’s a huge testament to the community who by and large have provided most of that funding.

“Yes, we got some statutory grants, but a lot of that has been fundraised by the community.”

Summing up the sentiment amongst residents, he added: “Rosslea is a grand place to live in; we are very resilient.

“We have had to be, with all of the services which have been withdrawn over the years, be it our secondary school, our surgery, our sub-branch of the bank.”

The hurt of losing services still runs deep, with every single person interviewed mentioning the loss of GP services in the area, and the closure of St. Eugene’s College, which both occurred in 2017.

Mr. McMahon said that the area could do with more housing. “We would love to see more housing developed because a lot of our young people, purely through a lack of housing, have had to move out of the area, which in the long-term is going to be detrimental to the community.”

Praising local spirit, he added: “It is a small community; it has always had its challenges, with being close to the Border and everything down the years, but thankfully people do stick together, and look after each other, and look out for each other.”

This spirit of looking out for each other was echoed by local businesses. Leo Campbell, of Campbell’s butchers – himself a blow-in to the area – acknowledged the support found in the area.

Leo Campbell, butcher

‘Very welcoming’

He said: “I live in Brookeborough; I have had a great reception from when I opened. Everyone is very welcoming.

“Everyone does pull together and support each other here, and that is probably what is needed in a small village like this.”

Mr. Campbell praised the work of the GAA club. “They recently had the Shamrock OsKaRs and raised a lot of money with that, and five years before that, they did the Strictly Come Dancing fundraiser, and I was involved in that.”

He added: “It is probably one of the best facilities in the county.”

As a butcher, he is about to be very busy with the Christmas rush, but said he is looking forward to that, too.

You can hear laughter from inside Chew N Brew when you approach the door – a sign of the friendly atmosphere inside.

Kate Mohan

Kate Mohan recently marked two years in business, but admitted that when she first announced she was opening an ice cream and coffee shop in the middle of a pandemic, “people thought I was half mad”.

She quickly added: “But I am still here! You are only as good as your footfall, but I have to say everybody in Rosslea has been very supportive.”

Continuing, she said: “There is great spirit in Rosslea; there is great business. There are two pubs, we have the butchers, we have five hairdressers, we have a hardware store, a coffee shop, the shop next door, a chemist, a salt therapy clinic, there is the acupuncture clinic, a dentist!

“You’d want to see it here on a Friday – there are some traffic jams!”

As Mrs. Mohan posed for a photo, a customer quipped: “Is this the ‘Calendar Girls’ again?”

Mrs. Mohan began to roar with laughter, explaining some of the antics around a charity calendar as part of the Roslea Shamrocks OsKaRs several weeks ago.

“They did the OsKaRs there, and people had to raise £1,500 each, and they did, and more.”

But the fundraising doesn’t stop there.

“We did the Calendar Girls, and at the end of the film, we had to do a collage of photographs because that was part of the film, so we decided we would do a calendar when we are at.

“Teresa McMahon took the photos; we said we would give it to the club as part of their [fundraising] money, and they said no, so we are doing it for two charities – one for cancer and one for Friedrich’s Ataxia.”

Joe and Betty Wilson

Exiting the pharmacy was Betty Wilson. She and her husband, Joe, were quick to acknowledge the “great neighbours” they have.

Mrs. Wilson said: “We have good neighbours; we have all we want – a post office, a church with a nice priest, we have Chew N Brew, two pubs.”

Mr. Wilson added: “The only thing we don’t have is a GP!”

They have lived in the village since they got married 49 years ago.

Praising the town, Mrs. Wilson said: “We have a good community association, and we play bowls in the community centre. We have the primary school out the road; our grandson goes to it, and it’s a good school.”

Tommy Callaghan

One man who has seen all of the changes of Rosslea over the years is Tommy Callaghan. At 90, he is the oldest resident in the village, and still lives on the main street.

Seated beside his Stanley cooker with the Northern Standard in his hand, he also had The Irish News, The Impartial Reporter and the Fermanagh Herald arranged in a neat pile beside him.

He sat forward in his chair when he got talking about the glory days of 1950s football with the Roslea Shamrocks.

“The Fifties was a good time. In 1950 we won the Minor league; 1951 we won the Minor league and Championship; 1952 we got into the Senior league and Championship – we were right into Senior football then.

“We lost those; Roslea and Agadrumsee were joined together at that time and then they [Aghadrumsee] started up their own in 1954, and we got going too, and we won the Junior League and Championship in 1954.

“And then we were into the Senior, and we won the Senior Championship in 1955, 56, 57 and 58. They were our best years.

“Fermanagh won the All-Ireland Junior that year, and there were a lot of players involved in it. I was not – the brother was, Owen.”

How has the village changed since he was a boy?

Mr. Callaghan said: “It has changed a lot; there is a go of traffic going through now from it [the Border] opened up.

“There was a Customs hut up this road here, and that opened up a lot more traffic.”

The tradition of céilíing is still alive and well in Rosslea. Mr. Callaghan’s 19 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren are just some of the callers.

He added: “[There are a] few callers, céilíing to each other’s houses – not as much as years ago. Family call in and out.”

Concluding, when asked for any final thoughts on the village, he said: “It’ll be going when I’m gone, things will keep going on.”