A constant gripe about Strabane that I’ve noticed down through the years is that nothing ever happens here. Often I’ve, quite rightly, had to agree with this notion. For too long we were by-passed for nearby sprawling metropolis that is Derry City. It wasn’t always like this.
There was a time when Strabane was a commercial epicentre where business and entertainment walked hand in hand and sat right on the border with the Republic of Ireland. There was the Commodore Cinema and The Palladrome Ballroom where all the major entertainers in the country came to perform. In a reverse of the trend that exists today people CAME to Strabane. It was the place to be in the fifties and early sixties. My old man and young muckers just like him used to hitchhike from Derry to Strabane on a Saturday night, suited and old-spiced up with Rock Hudson hair-do’s (remember, this was the late 50s!!) ready to seduce the local girls with an apparent charm that the local lads were seemingly bereft of.
It was a golden time for the town. Of course things were to change dramatically as the sixties drew to a close when all that was golden was literally blown to pieces. Entertainment since then has been scant. But perhaps there could be a change in the air if we could but notice it. Part of me thinks that we are so conditioned into thinking that there is nothing to do or see in Strabane that we fail to see the reality of things, which is that Strabane can be quite thriving with activity.
For instance, last Friday was a night that, in my opinion, had a little something for everyone out there. While the usual bemoaners were probably sitting in their local, supping on the same pint, in the same chair and again cursing the lack of events in Strabane, the town was rife with activity.
There was a time when Strabane was a commercial epicentre where business and entertainment walked hand in hand and sat right on the border with the Republic of Ireland. There was the Commodore Cinema and The Palladrome Ballroom where all the major entertainers in the country came to perform. In a reverse of the trend that exists today people CAME to Strabane. It was the place to be in the fifties and early sixties. My old man and young muckers just like him used to hitchhike from Derry to Strabane on a Saturday night, suited and old-spiced up with Rock Hudson hair-do’s (remember, this was the late 50s!!) ready to seduce the local girls with an apparent charm that the local lads were seemingly bereft of.
It was a golden time for the town. Of course things were to change dramatically as the sixties drew to a close when all that was golden was literally blown to pieces. Entertainment since then has been scant. But perhaps there could be a change in the air if we could but notice it. Part of me thinks that we are so conditioned into thinking that there is nothing to do or see in Strabane that we fail to see the reality of things, which is that Strabane can be quite thriving with activity.
For instance, last Friday was a night that, in my opinion, had a little something for everyone out there. While the usual bemoaners were probably sitting in their local, supping on the same pint, in the same chair and again cursing the lack of events in Strabane, the town was rife with activity.
Admittedly he’s not my thing at all but Dominic Kirwan was keeping the blue-rinsed Highland Radio listeners entertained in the town’s new Alley Theatre. There were discos galore. The Farmers can be quite good on a Friday and Saturday night – 2 DJs both called Mickey as it happens. OK, wee plug there lol! Dicey Rileys had English singer-songwriter Frank Turner on Friday night and a great gig it was for anyone with more alternative leanings. The gig was poorly attended and those who missed it missed out big in my opinion. I’ll be reminding them of that gig when they next bring up the lack of things going on in Strabane. There’s plenty going on. Stop whinging, get out there and cheer the fuck up! As a famous Strabane-man once sang: paradise is here......although he probably meant Donegal!!
www.myspace.com/frankturner
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