Sadness following death of former leading director of Maghera Historical Society
James Armour was known throughout the local area for his involvement with Maghera Historical Society, which was founded back in 2014
A man who was previously described as ‘the heart’ of Maghera Historical Society has sadly passed away.
James Armour died peacefully on Sunday, September 6 at St Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny.
It is understood the Maghera man, who was aged 80, had been suffering from ill health in recent times.
He was known throughout the local area for his involvement with Maghera Historical Society, which was founded back in 2014.
From humble beginnings and with funds of just £200, thanks to James’ input, the historical society grew over the years to become the busy hub it is today.
Local historian Joseph McCoy had founded the Maghera Historical Society to gather and share the history of the town.
Building on Joseph’s steadfast work, James brought together a group of over 40 people in November 2014 (including the members of the Maghera Historical Society) to put the Society on a formal footing, electing a committee and adopting a constitution. Joseph McCoy was elected as Chairperson of the revamped society.
In the first year, under James’s dynamic direction and business experience, funding was found to rent a building.
The building was transformed into a Heritage Centre by local volunteers and over the course of this first year more than 70 paid-up members joined, 20 events were held and over 2,000 people visited the centre.
It became a vibrant hub in the town and members came from all sections of the community.
All the work was done by volunteers leading to great pride in the facility.
The opening of the centre was celebrated by a dramatic parade through the town of vintage farm machinery and horse-drawn carriages.
A magazine was launched featuring articles and memories from all sides of the cultural, social, political and religious strands represented in the area.
In the early days, James chased grants and put up money himself, even renting a second home in Maghera at great personal expense (at the time his main residence was in the South of Ireland), in order to spend as much time as possible in the centre.
The Heritage Centre kept growing in popularity and outgrew the rented building they were in so James set about to raise funds to buy a building in the town.
In 2019, he succeeded in doing this, buying a building of 6,000 sq. feet at a cost of £130,000. The money was raised through grants.
In 2024, James stepped back from his duties as leading director after ten years at the helm of the organisation. A number of other directors also stepped down at the same time.
In an article penned in 2024 to mark James’ contribution to the society, it was stated: “Maghera Heritage Centre came from the vision, dedication and endless hard work of one inspirational man who wanted to leave a positive and hopeful legacy to his home town.”
James grew up in the Beagh area just outside Maghera.
He left the North as a teenager to join the RAF and trained in Aeronautical Engineering through an RAF College Programme, graduating in the early ‘60s.
After leaving Maghera, James spent little time there until, in 2012, he decided to write a book ‘From the Beagh to Maghera’ about his experiences growing up on a farm.
This led to James visiting Maghera again. He was struck by the fact that the town was still divided along sectarian lines. He felt it could benefit from the establishment of an inclusive community facility based on the history and culture of the area and embracing all the different social, religious and political strands which existed in the town. James was also doing this in memory of his brother Uel who was very involved in the community until his sad death in his early 40s.
In accordance with his wishes, a private cremation took place this week.