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STRABANE |
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Present-day STRABANE , north of Omagh, is pretty grim and often
traffic-congested. As a small Catholic enclave surrounded by largely
Protestant-owned farmland and sitting right on the border it has
suffered more than most from the Troubles. Economic depression was a
consequence and at one time the town had the highest unemployment rate
in the country. In the eighteenth century, however, Strabane was an
important printing and publishing centre. John Dunlap emigrated from
here and went on to print the broadsheets of the American Declaration of
Independence in 1776, as well as the Pennsylvanian Packet , America's
first daily newspaper. All that is left in Strabane of these times is
the cute, bow-windowed frontage of Gray's Printing Shop , 49 Main St,
which is now owned by the National Trust. It has a small printing museum
upstairs (Tues-Fri 11am-5pm, Sat 11.30am-5pm; £2) with a selection of
old presses and an audiovisual show on print history, but sadly the
shop's interior has been ripped out to provide maximum space for cards,
completely destroying the scale and atmosphere the place must have once
had.
One of Strabane's most famous sons was Brian O'Nolan, a multi-faceted
writer better known as both the surreal and comic novelist Flann O'Brien
and the brilliantly zany Irish Times columnist Myles na Gopaleen. Born
in 1911 into an Irish-speaking household at 15 Bowling Green, he had a
glittering academic career at University College Dublin and spent much
of his working life as a civil servant. An irascible character with a
fondness for drinking, he was unfortunate enough to produce his best
work, At Swim-Two-Birds , just before the outbreak of World War II.
Since his death in 1966 his absurdist novels have been republished and -
much to his annoyance, no doubt - he has become a cult figure . Another,
less entertaining individual to have his roots in the area is the
American president Woodrow Wilson . Head east of Strabane two miles down
the Plumbridge Road and you'll find the Wilson ancestral home in the
village of DERGALT (July & Aug 2-5pm; £1) - the president's father, who
was a printer in Strabane, lived in this small, traditional farmer's
cottage. Stuffed with furniture and effects belonging to the family,
it's now a target for American tourists, who dutifully meander through
the hallowed rooms.
The tourist office , in a glass pagoda on Abercorn Square (April-Oct
Mon-Thurs 9am-5.30pm, Fri & Sat 9am-4.30pm; tel 028/7138 2204), will
help with finding accommodation . Top of the range is the Fir Trees
Hotel , Melmount Rd (tel 028/7138 2382; £55-70), which also has a fine
restaurant , or try the central B&B Bowling Green House , 6 Bowling
Green (tel 028/7188 4787; £26-33). Wholesome daytime meals can be found
at Dempsey's , Lower Main Street, while piscophiles should head for
Oysters Restaurant , 37 Patrick St, for both lunch and evening fish
specialities.
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