Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2021 census was 1,217.
Name and etymology Fintona is derived phonetically from the Irish name of the area, Fionntamhnach; this is often translated to mean "white field" however other meanings have been recorded due to various English translations for "fionn" and "tamhnach". "Fionn" may refer to a colour that is described as white, bright, blonde or fair-coloured, while "tamhnach" may refer to a field, clearing, oasis, grassy upland or arable place in a mountain.
In the past, the English spelling of the area has varied, with "Findonagh" in use as recently as 1937 in Church of Ireland documents, while "Fentonagh" and "Fintonagh" were also in use in the 19th century. The current spelling of Fintona has been recorded as first used in 1774.
History The local area has been known to have had human activity for around 4000 years; there are many burial places, standing stones, stone circles and graves in the area around Fintona. The current village is developed from an Uí Néill fortress built in 1431 and is one of Tyrone's oldest settlements. Some time after the Plantation of Ulster, by 1668 the dominant landowners in the area was the Eccles Family and their Manor House, which was located in what is nowadays Fintona Golf Club and Ecclesville Park on the Ecclesville Demesne, was built in 1703.Fintona Town Centre Action Plan, April 2010, Omagh District Council
As in many other parts of Ireland during the 19th Century, the expansion of the railway network saw the village connected with the rest of the country. There were two stations, Fintona (open 5 June 1853) and Fintona Junction (open 1 May 1856). Connecting the two stations was a horse-drawn tram which took passengers from the village to Fintona Junction railway station which was a stop on the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway which itself was part of the Great Northern Railway. Both stations closed on 1 October 1957.
Horse tram
Possibly the most well known bit of history associated with Fintona was the horse-drawn tram (or "van" to the locals) that took passengers from Fintona railway station to Fintona Junction station one mile away. The name of the horse was always "Dick" regardless of sex. First class and second class passengers travelled inside while third class travellers sat exposed to the elements on the top.
The tram made its last trip on 30 September 1957 when the Omagh to Enniskillen line closed, and with it, Fintona's rail links to the rest of Ireland. When retired, it was the second-last existing example of a horse-drawn tram in public service in the British Isles, the only remaining one now being on Douglas promenade, Isle of Man. The "van" now lies at the Ulster Transport Museum.
The legacy of the horse tram's service and identity to Fintona can be seen with the unique road signs welcoming you into the village, which includes an image or silhouette of the horse tram with "Dick" pulling the tram along with the driver, conductor and a third person on board on the top of the tram.
Geography
Fintona lies in the civil parish of Donacavey, in the south west of County Tyrone bordering County Fermanagh. The parish was split between two historical baronies – Fintona itself along with the majority of Donacavey was part of the Clogher barony while a northern portion of the parish lay in the barony of Omagh East.
The village lies across several gentle hills, including Main Street whose centre lies on a hill summit and its ends at the feet of the same hill. There are small pockets of flat ground, mostly at the Ecclesville Demesne. By road distance, Omagh, the county town of Tyrone, lies north, Enniskillen is south-west, while Belfast and Dublin are east and south-east respectively.
Towards the south-east about away, about half-way between Fintona and the village of Fivemiletown, the land rises to the summit of Murley Mountain, (known better locally as "Fivemiletown Mountain", also occasionally known as "Stranisk Hill" after its local townland), which has a peak of above sea level. At this peak and the surrounding land are two close by wind farms, Lendrums Bridge (open 2000)RES Group, "Lendrums Bridge I"RES Group, "Lendrums Bridge II" and Hunters Hill (open 2008).RES Group, "Hunters Hill"
A small river named the "Quiggery Water", whose source is located on the northern slopes of Murley Mountain, flows through Fintona with bridges crossing it at Kiln Street and Mill Street as well as just outside the village at a location known as the Carnlea crossroads. This river then joins with the Ballynahatty Water to form the Drumragh River, which in turn joins the Camowen River in Omagh to form the River Strule.
Climate Located from the Atlantic coastline, Fintona has an Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). Winters are normally cool to mild with morning frosts being a common occurrence, especially with settled weather. Summers are usually cool to moderate with high temperatures normally around the upper teens, with the warmest temperatures of the season rarely peaking at less than 24 degrees Celsius.
Rainfall is common throughout the year with the wettest months between October and January, and the driest months being April and May.
Sleet and snow showers happen occasionally, usually falling between the months of December and March though it can fall any time between October and May. Snow accumulation usually happens several times each year, though it rarely lies for more than three of four days and sometimes only for a few hours.
Government Fintona lies in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council local authority area. Prior to the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland on 1 April 2015, Fintona was part of Omagh District Council.
For elections, Fintona lies in the Fintona ward. For district council elections the ward makes up part of the district electoral area of West Tyrone (not to be confused with the House of Commons and Northern Ireland Assembly constituencies of the same name) that elects six councillors via the Single Transferable Vote.
For elections to both the House of Commons at Westminster, London and the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, Belfast, the Fintona ward lies in the West Tyrone electoral constituency.
Economy Fintona is home to a number of small businesses that include two supermarkets, a GP clinic, a veterinary surgery, a restaurant and an optician among other smaller shops, cafes and pubs. A substantial amount of working residents however are employed at locations outside of Fintona, with Omagh and Enniskillen being common.
Education Fintona has two primary schools: Denamona Primary School (Controlled) and St. Lawrence's Primary School (Catholic Maintained). Both primary schools teach the Northern Ireland Curriculum Key Stages 1 & 2 (Years 1 to 7) to students between the ages of 4 and 11 years, as well as containing a nursery unit, accommodating children in the 3–4-years-old age group.
In April 2017, St. Lawrence's P.S. won the junior category of the BBC Radio Ulster School Choir of the Year, which was broadcast live on the radio station.
Two other primary schools, St. Patrick's (townland of Garvallagh) and St. Joseph's (townland of Lisconrea), both Catholic Maintained, closed due to falling enrolments; St. Joseph's in 2003 and St. Patrick's in 2009.
There are no post-primary schools in Fintona, children continue their education at schools usually either in Omagh, Dromore or Fivemiletown, while a few also attended schools in Ballygawley and Enniskillen.
Fintona Library Fintona has its own branch library that was originally opened in the early 1980s in a prefabricated building in Ecclesville Park. The library moved to its current location on Main Street in 1991.
In early 2011, the library was one of ten marked for closure by Libraries NI. Libraries NI had stated that the library was one of the least-used in Northern Ireland and that the roof of the building required repair at a significant cost. At a public consultation meeting, held at Fintona Golf Club in March 2011, there were local calls for the retention of the library, while representations were also made to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure of the Northern Ireland Assembly. On 20 October 2011, Libraries NI announced that the Fintona branch library would remain open while efforts were made to either improve its premises or find an alternative location. It was confirmed, in July 2013, that the library building would receive a full refurbishment.
As of 2025, the library is open three days a week, On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Transport Fintona today is linked to Omagh though the B122 that connects to the A5 Omagh to Ballygawley road about outside Omagh. Other roads linking Fintona to elsewhere include the B80 to Enniskillen (via Tempo), the B46 to Dromore, the B122 to Fivemiletown, the B46 to Seskinore and Beragh, the B168 to Clogher and the Derrybard and Greenmount roads that connect to the A5 Omagh to Ballygawley road on to towards Belfast and Dublin.
Public transport
The only public transport available is an Ulsterbus bus service provided by Translink that connects Fintona to Omagh (Service No. 87). Seven services run on weekdays and five on Saturdays. There is no service on Sundays.
Fintona had been connected to the railway network via Fintona and Fintona Junction stations on the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway's horse-drawn spur line (see #Horse tram section). These stations opened in the 1850s, but were closed in October 1957.
Sport and leisure There are numerous sports clubs and facilities in Fintona which cater for a range of activities. Local clubs include Fintona Cycling Club, Fintona Badminton Club and two bowling clubs.
Fintona Golf Club
Fintona Golf Club was founded in 1904 by C.W.L. Brown-Lecky and is located on part of the Ecclesville Demesne. It is a nine-hole course which have twin tees allowing players a different challenge on their second time round. Ronan Rafferty rated it the best nine-hole course in Northern Ireland in a feature on the TV programme 'Ronan Rafferty's Great Golf Journeys'.DiscoverIreland.com The course includes a club house and a bar with a function room and catering facilities.Fintona Golf Club – Facilities In September 2021 the club won the All-Ireland AIG Women's Challenge Cup at Shandon Park in Belfast after defeating Gort in the Final.
Fintona Pearses GAA Club
Fintona Pearses GAA club was founded in late 1916 and first played competitive Gaelic football games a year later. There was already a GAA club in Fintona at the time, the Davitts, which was founded in 1907 and won the Tyrone Senior Football Championship in 1914 but the Davitts folded not long after the Pearses club started, whom themselves went on to win a Tyrone SFC title in 1938. The current club is based at its own grounds just outside the town on the Tattymoyle Road in the townland of Tonnaghbane, named St. Lawrence's Park which has undergone substantial redevelopment since the early 1990s which today includes two full-size pitches (one with floodlights), a smaller training pitch, a clubhouse with four changing rooms and two stands (one roofed). Gaelic football teams are fielded at adult and underage levels along with hurling teams at underage levels. A Ladies Gaelic Football club of the same name, fielding teams at adult and underage levels, also play their games at the same ground.
In 2023, the Senior Men's Gaelic Football team won the Tyrone Junior Football Championship after defeating Drumragh in the final in Healy Park, Omagh by 1-10 (13 pts) to 0-12 (12 pts) after extra time.
Fintona Swifts Football Club