Well you know the rules by now – if you read it on the internet it must be true, and this week we read that a survey from the Office of National Statistics found Omagh is the fourth happiest place to live in the UK! The Personal Wellbeing survey asked 165,000 people to rate how happy they were, how satisfied they felt, how worthwhile they thought their life was and how anxious they were, giving each indicator a score out of 10. That got us thinking about the things that make Omagh people happy – and here, in no particular order, are some of our favourites… 1. The beautiful Sperrins. The countryside around Omagh is dominated by the beautiful, heather-clad slopes of the Sperrin mountains – one of the largest upland areas of Ireland and a designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Vast swathes of this mountain range are completely wild and untouched, teeming with wildlife and littered with ancient stone circles. The Sperrins support tourism in the form of walking and outdoor pursuits, agriculture and even industry in the form of forestry and gold mining. But their greatest value is without doubt their beauty, as a trip to nearby spots such as Gortin Glen Forest Park or Pigeon Top will prove.
2. Hollywood connections Omagh’s link to the world of Hollywood blockbusters began back in the 1990s when Omagh-born actor Sam Neill was cast in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jurassic Park’. Neill was born at Mullaghmore House and still pops in for a visit now and again, though he now resides in New Zealand where he is a producer of award-winning wines. More recently, Omagh found itself back on the Hollywood map when soon-to-be-released horror movie Dracula Untold filmed scenes at the History Park. There are also rumours flying about that cult HBO TV series Game of Thrones will be next to arrive in town… 3. The Ulster American Folk Park Yes, we know, you went there 100 times when you were at primary school and the only bit you were interested in was the fresh griddled pancakes and soda bread…but have you visited the Folk Park lately? Not only is it the largest outdoor museum
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Europe, it gets rave reviews from grownup visitors from all over the world each year and has a packed calendar of events including the iconic Bluegrass Festival. Plus, you still get pancakes and soda! 4. Artsy fartsy
We might not have the massive arts scene of a big city but when it comes to artistic talent, Omagh must have one of the highest per capita ratios of creative people in its population! Our town has a long and distinguished history for producing musicians, actors, writers and artists – authors Benedict Kiely, Martina Devlin and Sharon Owens, playwright Brian Friel, actors Sam Neill and Gerard McSorley, musicians Arty McGlynn, Philip Turbett, Juliet Turner and Janet Devlin and also upcoming Radio One DJ Philip Taggart all hail from Omagh.