The Governor's...

The Governor's house in Omagh is now on the market and priced at a modest ยฃ40,000. The house is part of a broader gaol complex, most of which has been demolished. The B1 listed building was built in 1820 by renowned Irish architect John Hargreaves for ยฃ17,000.

This eight-sided building was where the governor of the gaol lived, and he could come out onto the platform and look down on the prisoners from above. The prisoners were kept segregated. Males were on one side, and paupers and females on the other. A report made in 1876 showed 32 male and 16 female prisoners. He also noted: ๐‘‚๐‘›๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘–๐‘› 1876 โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘›๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘œ 100 ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ ๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘œ๐‘˜๐‘ , ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ ๐‘–๐‘ฅ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ฆ, ๐‘Ž ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘“๐‘–๐‘“๐‘ก๐‘ฆ, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ 2 ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ 5 ๐‘“๐‘’๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘’๐‘  โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘ก๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ค๐‘–๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘ก.

Executions were commonplace in these times, and many took place here with the bodies buried on site. In later years the hangings took place on Gallows hill. The goal closed in 1902, and the house came into private ownership in 1960. It is one of the few historical buildings left in Omagh and would be a good opportunity for the property to return to public ownership. The potential here is massive to restore this piece of history and turn it into something for all to enjoy. This unique building is one of a kind and should be saved in the right way for future generations.

There is a meeting in Omagh Community House on the 11th of Oct at 7.30 PM to discuss its future. Please join the 'Save Omagh Gaol' group on Facebook for more updates.

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