WHEN the last train from Newry to Greenore snaked along the Southern shore of Carlingford Lough, exactly 50 years ago, it struck a devastating blow to the village of Omeath, and the entire Cooley peninsula.

A large crowd gathered at Edward Street Station in the frontier town, to bid farewell to a 77-year service. And many travelled the short distance to Bridge Street Station, where some bought souvenir rail tickets, as mementos of that historic occasion in January 1952.

This sharp setback came as Omeath’s tourist industry was in its heyday, as hordes of day-trippers from Belfast, Mid-Ulster, and the Newry region descended on that quaint little village in search of cheap drink, fags and the little luxuries unobtainable in the Spartan, post-war regime of rationing, north of the border.

Cars were virtually non-existent, buses few and far between, while even a flotilla of ferryboats could not cater for visitors, via Warrenpoint.

Then, the recent Troubles also wrought havoc, as a permanent British Army checkpoint caused long delays on the Newry to Omeath road, frustrating any attempt to revive the flagging tourist industry.

However, Omeath folk are a resilient bunch. And recent years has witnessed a renaissance, as hundreds of new dwellings have brought an infusion of fresh blood into the locality, instilling a feeling that the corner many be turning.

In fact, the Omeath District Development Company has launched an ambitious programme, involving the appointment of full-time Youth and Tourist Officers, along with teams, whose task it will be to keep the village clean, plant shrubs and flower-beds etc, to instil a community spirit, and enhance the image of a much-deprived area.

Close co-operation will be nurtured with tourist, environment and sporting bodies in the Newry region, nurturing the spirit of cross-border co-operation, enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.

Of course, the Omeath area is ideally placed to exploit its untapped tourist potential, located where the legendary Finn McCool and Cu Cuchulainn bestrode the hills; and also the tragic tale of the tall Spanish lady, who is buried in the “Long Woman’s Grave.”

A Gaelteacht area, with many native Irish speakers up until the 1920’s, Padraig Pearse drafted the 1916 Proclamation, while a teacher at the local Irish College, now the Park Hotel, Omeath.

Religion of all kinds has pervaded this region, especially the famous Calvary scene, with its Station of the Cross, which have drawn worshippers for generations; a Lourdes Grotto; as well as the coffin, containing the incorrupt corpse of an Italian priest, Fr Gentili, which is on public view.

Also in the same complex is the Shrine of St Jude, patron saint of “hopeless cases,” which has a steady stream of supplicants.

More controversial is the former St Andrew’s Protestant Church, converted to Catholic use by “Bishop” Patrick Buckley, where he conducted marriages of divorced couples. He made world headlines by ordaining the first woman Catholic priest, a nun who had been living as a hermit in the region.

However, when the cleric proclaimed his sexual orientation, and officiated at the marriage of gay couples, his benefactor withdrew his support, and the building acquired a For Sale notice.

Another local church, which also changed its identity, was the abandoned St Laurence’s Catholic Church. It was officially re-opened as the Dolmen Centre by U.S. ambassador, Jean Kennedy Smith, for community purposes, five years ago. A new church had been built, being consecrated by the late Cardinal O Fiaich, a few years earlier.

The ten townlands of Omeath have produced such politicians as Nuala Ahern, Member of the European Parliament; the late John Bell, an esteemed member of Newry and Mourne district council; Tommy Elmore, RIP, Chairman of Louth County Council; and Cllr Arthur Morgan (Sinn Fein), who took a seat on the Dail in the 2002 elections.

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