Many would-be philosophers ponder as they drive along the A4 Belfast Road, where is Fivemiletown five miles from?
Looking at our modern road signs, the answer is not simple. The apparent name comes from how it was located, five ‘Irish miles’ (about 1.2 miles) away from the nearest towns of Clogher, Brookeborough and Tempo.
The town was busy despite damp weather and heavy traffic as locals and passersby popped out while doing their messages.
Out for a walk in their brightly coloured raincoats which stood out on the grey day were Paula Kerr and her dog, Suzy.
Holding her dog, Ms. Kerr said: “We would like more doggy-friendly shops, a few let her in but not many.
“I’d love a dog-friendly coffee shop, so many in Enniskillen are, but I can’t imagine a dog-friendly one in Fivemiletown, but we would love to see it.”
She says it is a very friendly town and expressed her joy at living in such a scenic place.
Those new to the area have praised the welcome of Fivemiletown with Mairead Kelly praising the area.
She said: "We moved to Fivemiletown in the spring of 2022 and it’s a perfect location for us. My parents live down the road in Enniskillen and being on the main road to Belfast, where my husband is from, means we can visit both families really easily. The flexibility we have with remote working is a huge bonus, allowing us to live here as we no longer need to commute to Belfast on a daily basis.”
“We have everything we need on our doorstep, with lots of lovely new small businesses, great places to eat and a new library due to open soon too.”
Mrs. Kelly was a key player in the fight to save St. Mary’s Primary School in the town and said: “For me, the support we’ve had from right across the community for our school has been so heartwarming, and shows how rural communities really stick together when times are tough."
The town is home to a thriving business population. One long-standing trader is Gary Coote of Gary Coote Meats.
He has been in the Tyrone town for 14 years but has owned shops across the area for 30 years.
He said: “I am 30 years in business. I had a shop in Clogher and I had this second shop. We had come here as the kids were here and went to school here.
“Fivemiletown is a very good business town. When I first came here, there was very little in the town. The last 13 years it has been thriving.”
He says while the town's last bank was missed when it closed in the area, the establishment of new businesses has helped trade.
Summing up the feelings of many in the area, he said: “There is a good community spirit, everybody works well and pulls well together.”
The town is home to a modern high school which attracts students from all across South Tyrone and indeed from parts of Fermanagh.
Two of the students were on their lunch break when they met this reporter.
Well-spoken advocates for their school and community they praised the area as they clutched onto chicken snack boxes, the smell wafting in the street.
Corey Tenner had a very simple answer when asked the best thing about his home town: Edfield, a nearby restaurant and takeaway where he and his friend from Newtownbutler, Jemma Moncrieff, have purchased their lunch.
“A lot of people come down from school to it”, he explained.
He also noted that the barber was “very good” as were the amenities in the town such as the Round Lake.
Miss Moncrieff agreed with her friend's points. However, as a proud member of the Clogher Valley Rugby Club Under 18s ladies' team, she was keen to mention her team's success.
She noted: “There is a good feel for ladies' rugby here, it has definitely improved.”
Dashing down the street attempting to avoid a shower armed with a two-litre carton of milk was Rhona Trotter, keen to talk about Fivemiletown when stopped on the street. She invited us inside her shop, Simply Chic, to escape the showers.
A “blow-in” to the area from County Monaghan, she says that Fivemiletown is “a nice little community”.
Mrs. Trotter opened the shop four years ago after a 20-year career as a care assistant.
She says she enjoys the face-to-face nature of business: “I love meeting people.
“People become friends and they return, I like people to come and sit on the couch and have a chin wag.”
As a mother, she was very praising of the facilities offered in the town: “We have the swimming pool and the Youth Annex.”
“We have the Fivemiletown United Football Club, which is big. She gestures to her colleague as she says 'myself and herself, we are coaches, we take the under 11s, for our sins'!"
When asked how she got that role, she smiled and said: “I stood on the sideline for too many years. My son is the captain of the firsts so I’ve spent 18 years following him around.”
There is a clear pride in the young people she helps coach when she says: “I do it all for the kids.”
She says that sport is very much a part of the community: “Football and rugby draw in a big crowd, I have one daughter who does the rugby.
“The [Clogher Valley Rugby] men won the big shield at the weekend, I think the town was busy on Saturday night.
“It is good for young people to have any of the sports.
“The youth annexe up at the high school it is a fantastic place. It is great for the kids, they meet up and chill.”
Looking forward to new developments she said: “When the library comes back it will be state of the art so it will be a great benefit to the town.”
Further down the street, sisters Rosanna and Alexandra Bothwell are hard at work in RoaleX Equestrian and Country Wear.
Rosanna praised the retail offering in the town: “There is a good selection of stuff in the town from bridal to mother of the bride to a more sort of casual.
“There is Roots and Fruits which is new, and you have all the butchers."
She praised the area as a one-stop shop: “You can come to Fivemiletown and stay in Blessingbourne [Estate] and then go to the Valley [Hotel] for your tea – there is a bit of everything.”
Explaining why the sisters opened up their own retail premises, Alexandra said: “I was always into the equestrian and riding but there was never anything close to go and get something like that or even for that country style fashion.
“You would have got it in England when we were over at shows or horse trials.
“We knew it was lacking here as we would have went over [to England] for that stuff, we would have seen it at all at the trade shows here when you went to Balmoral or down to Dublin [Horse Show].”
Highlighting what is the quintessential strength of the area, Rosanna summed it up: “I think Fivemiletown grows because of the selection and in the Clogher Valley people promote each other.”
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