inform-residents-newsletter-spring-summer-2016 (2)

14 13 Sporting Talent Celebrated at Fermanagh&Omagh Sports ForumAwards Sporting talent from across the Fermanagh and Omagh district was celebrated at the 2015 Fermanagh and Omagh Sports Forum Sports Awards on Friday 19 February 2016 in Mahon’s Hotel, Irvinestown. The Awards, which are organised in partnershipwith Fermanagh andOmagh District Council, recognise and celebrate local sportsmen andwomen, individuals and teams, for outstanding sporting performance in 2015. The year’s list of nominees enjoyed success at regional, provincial, national and international level in the last year. Congratulations to all nominees and awardwinners! ACivic Art Collection Starts The Council has launched a new civic art collection which will form a permanent exhibition within Council facilities. The idea, which is an initiative of the current Chairman, Councillor Thomas O’Reilly, will have a piece added to it annually by the respective Council Chairperson tomark his or her year in office. As the inaugural piece for the civic art collection, Councillor O’Reilly selected a piece of art byOmagh native, SusanMannion, who had her first solo exhibition at the Strule Arts Centre in September 2015 as part of the 14th Benedict KielyWeekend. Thework, entitled ‘Arc of Ripples’, is awood engraving inspired by the writing of Benedict Kiely. HeritageGateway ProjectWell Underway The ambitious refurbishment of four buildings, including the Council’s Fermanagh County Museum, and part of the castle court yard within the Enniskillen Castle Museums complex, is well underway and on course for completion this summer. Work to transform the EnniskillenCastle Museums complex into the heritage gateway of the Fermanagh andOmagh district and beyond includes a new state-of-the-art Visitor Centrewith a tourism, heritage and genealogy information service. There will also be a café, shop, newgalleries and exhibition spaces and interactive activity areas including a Cozy Zone for very young visitors. The project also involves the relocation of the Visitor InformationCentre from Enniskillen’sWellington Road towithin the EnniskillenCastleMuseums complex, enabling an expansion of visitor services throughout the year. The £3.5millionHeritageGateway project has received funding from theNational Lottery through theHeritage Lottery Fund, TourismNI, the European Regional Development Fund, theNorthern Ireland Environment Agency, Fermanagh and OmaghDistrict Council and the Friends of FermanaghCountyMuseum. For further information on EnniskillenCastle Museums visit www.enniskillencastle.co.uk or telephone 028 6632 5000 . Milestone Celebrations for Council Leisure Complexes 2015 and 2016 are proving significant years for Omagh Leisure Complex and Fermanagh Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen, with each reaching anniversary milestones respectively. The Fermanagh Lakeland Forum is currently gearing up to celebrate 40 years in operation thisMay. Officially opened on 19May 1976 byWilliamMcBrideMBE, the Forumhas sincewelcomed hundreds of thousands of patrons, with one group of friends playing 5-aside football every Friday night since the opening! Anumber of events and activities are currently being organised to celebrate the Forum’smilestone anniversarywith details publicised closer to the time. Today, the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum is a hub of activity for the young, old and all ages in between, thanks to a bumper programme of classes and activities and the hosting of events including the recent annual Festival of Wrestling organised by ErneWrestling Club and theDepartment of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s ‘Celebration of Sport’. In June 2015, Omagh Leisure Complex celebrated its first year in operation following the completion of amulti-million pound refurbishment programme. Since reopening to the public on 1 July 2014 there weremore than 330,000 admissions to Omagh Leisure Complex. The Complex boasts the district’s only indoor sprint track, as well as state of the art aquatic facilities, health suite and gym, all utilised to accomodate a packed programme of leisure and fitness activities. Omagh Leisure Complex has also hosted a number of major events over the past 18-months, including the All-IrelandCycling Championships and SouthWest College’s GraduationCeremony. Later this year the Complexwill host the Assembly Election Count and theWest Tyrone Feis among other events. Both the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum andOmagh Leisure Complex offer a comprehensive aquatic and fitness and training programme, with indoor and outdoor facilities andmulti-purpose areas available for hire by community groups, sports clubs, businesses and individuals. The Council’s Bawnacre Centre in Irvinestown andCastle Park Leisure Centre, Lisnaskea, continue to provide a year round leisure and recreation programmewith a number of indoor and outdoor leisure and training facilities available for hire also. For further information on training, fitness and recreation programmes at any of the Council’s four leisure complexes, visit our website at www.fermanaghomagh.com or contact the relevant complex directly. The Council also supports leisure centres inDromore, Fintona and Trillick. For information contact these centres directly. Fermanagh and Omagh Sports Forum Fermanagh andOmagh Sports Forum ismade up of 10 people from the district’s voluntary and community sports sector and 10 elected representatives. By linkingwith the local community, the Sports Forum acts in an advisory capacity regarding the future direction of sports and recreation provision in the Fermanagh &Omagh district. Summer schemes for children and young people A programme of summer schemes for children and young people will take place across the district in Summer 2016. The Council’s summer scheme programme will include a range of activities at community centres, leisure complexes and multi-use games areas (MUGAs).We are currently finalising plans for this year’s summer scheme programme for the district. Please keep an eye on the Council’s website and local press for further details frommid- April.