'Inspirational' James 'to leave a positive and hopeful legacy to his home town'

A County Derry man who has been described as 'the heart' of Maghera Historical Society has announced he is to retire.

James Armour has been heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the group since it was founded back in 2014.

The group was formed to advance community development in Maghera and its environs as well as the culture, heritage and history of the Maghera area.

The organisation also aims to advance the mental, social and physical well-being of those people living in the area of Maghera, particularly the older members of the community, promote education as well as the development of skills and good relations in the area.

James, who grew up in the Beagh area just outside Maghera, 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 about his experiences growing up on a farm. His book 'From the Beagh to Maghera' was published in 2014.

This led to James visiting Maghera again and while there 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 embrace 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.

By this stage Maghera Historical Society had been formed to gather and share the history of the town and James soon became involved.

In November 2014, he brought together a group of over 40 people to put the society on a formal footing, electing a committee and adopting a constitution.

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 2016, James organised a Storytelling Festival over two days where over 700 people got involved. Poets and storytellers visited local schools and the library to run workshops. A Music Group from Middle State University Tennessee performed a musical based on the history of Country and Bluegrass music. (Both these genres are rooted in Irish and Scottish traditional music) for the local second level school. Poets, singers, storytellers and performers from all over Ireland performed over two nights in a local hall.

In August of that year he also organised Maghera’s first Agri-Show and Country Fair attended by thousands of people. Competitors and visitors came from the four provinces. There was a full programme of events, including show jumping, showing classes, over forty stalls and entertainment. James secured funding to buy all the equipment necessary ensuring a well-run and very successful event. This was based on James’s earlier experiences organising Shows in the South of Ireland. The Fair was held in the grounds of the Church of Ireland Rectory. For many of the Catholic Community this was their first visit to the Rectory so deep was the divide between communities.

Unfortunately, the show for 2017 was cancelled due to the weather but the 2018 show was an even bigger success than the first one under James’s direction. The work on the ground was done by volunteers inspired by James’s leadership and knowledge.

Funding was secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund, again with James’s guidance and inspiration, to deliver a project involving five local farmers who gave an account of their experiences during the ‘40s,’50s and ‘60s when the transition was made from the horse to the tractor, A short film was made following on from this by BBC Radio Ulster. A series of exhibition panels were produced and the Project was launched at a two-day event in the Presbyterian Church Hall, where farmers were invited to display their vintage machinery and farming equipment. Mr. Sharma Mukesh MBE, a Committee Member of the Heritage Lottery attended and was bowled over by the quality of the material produced by the Society. Over 500 people attended over the two days and the exhibition panels were lent to local schools and libraries ensuring that thousands of people could become involved in learning more about local history.

To learn how to collect oral history correctly James arranged a Training Workshop with Dr. Anna Bryson who is a Senior Lecturer in Queen’s University and an expert in the field of Oral History, where she has won many awards. Anna originally came from Maghera, and with her guidance the material collected was recorded, transcribed, published and archived by the volunteers to the highest standards.

Through all this time James tirelessly arranged and ran music events, poetry nights, coffee mornings, a sponsored walk and arranged for the centre to be open six days a week for people to drop in.

Described as 'a wonderful addition to the town', a lot of credit must be given to all the volunteers who have been involved however James has been known as 'the heart of it all' and worked tirelessly seven days a week to deliver everything.

To fund all this was difficult. The Society had started with about £200 but James chased grants and put up money himself to keep the doors open. He even rented 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. He rarely if ever even charged expenses such as travel.

The Heritage Centre kept growing in popularity and outgrew the rented building. 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. James applied to the National Lottery for a Community Grant and an award of £130,000 was made to help with capital costs, salaries and utilities. The grant’s purpose was delivered over the next three years and the NL Community Fund Officer signed off on the End-Of-Grant Report.

The building had been a pub consisting of two floors and an enclosed yard. It was in very poor condition and had to be re-designed and renovated from top to bottom under the guidance of a local architectural firm. James raised the funding for this too. Only £50,000 was borrowed in the form of a mortgage from UCIT Bank (now Community Finance Ireland). The remaining costs were covered by Ulster Garden Villages Ltd., the Clothworker’s Foundation and Trusthouse Charitable Foundation. This was an amazing achievement. All funding bodies were more than happy with the outcome and the management of the monies.

ABOVE: One of the many rooms in the building.

The building was bought just before Covid struck and while the country was in lockdown the renovations were carried out and after Covid the building was opened up to the community. James managed all this. During Covid engagement continued under James’s guidance with Zoom workshops on creative writing and crafts, poetry publications and on-line activities. These were enabled by a grant from TNL under the Covid recovery scheme. A proportion of the money went towards building an outdoor structure in the yard which could be used for people to meet while observing safety guidelines at the time.

The building now has a welcoming Social Area, a large well-equipped Function Room, a Men’s Shed, a Research Library, a Genealogy Facility, a Meeting Room/Exhibition Space and offices.

When the building was bought the society was restructured as a limited company and the charitable status updated.

James then oversaw the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant to make models of local historic sites. The grant also went towards the refurbishment of an Exhibition Room where the models and information panels are on display. Many of the local monuments (particularly those relating to the Megalithic era are very inaccessible). Films were produced and information gathered to make people aware of all the heritage on their doorstep. Volunteers and staff members carried out the work on the ground, designers were employed and the models made by award-winning Architectural model-makers in Wales, but throughout all this – the core vision was James’s and he was the driving force behind it.

The Research Library has genealogical facilities, text books, old written scripts, old deeds of properties and a wealth of information on the history of the area. It has been used by people from all over the world to research their family roots. It has also been used by 3^rd Level students and the community generally for historical studies.

In 2022 James applied for and received a grant from The Prince’s Trust (Countryside Fund) to help put in place a Function Suite on the first floor of the building as this was something members and visitors to the building felt was needed in the town. With the grant and some money from the Society’s reserves the Suite was up and running in early 2023. It is open to all and has been used extensively by numerous organisations as well as private groups.

Since August 2023 a Craft Fair has been in place attracting an average of twenty stallholders who get an opportunity to display and sell their handmade products.

In the Summer/Winter of 2023 James put in place a programme of workshops and classes, these included painting/art classes, chair aerobics, pottery classes arm knitting, sewing and crochet classes, Knit and Natter groups, Book Clubs etc.

James also organised the purchase of a 14-seater minibus so that the older members of the community living in remote locations could be collected and brought to the centre. He ran away trips for the community too, organising outings to different events and tours.

ABOVE: James Armour is set to retire.

As well as the funders mentioned, grants were received from many other groups and organisations.

Since the first building opened tens of thousands of people have visited the Society and become involved in the activities. More than 65,000 volunteer hours have been logged. James himself has contributed almost 20,000 unpaid hours. The list of events and activities is too long to even begin to describe.

Over the years James was untiring in his dedication and energy. People who visited the centre almost always wanted to see him and he was there day after day welcoming everybody and engaging with them.

A spokesperson for Maghera Historical Society said: “Great credit must be given to all the volunteers over the years. It would be impossible to include every one but Jean Dunne and John Marquess must get a special mention. The staff were remarkable for the effort and enthusiasm they brought to the work too. But the message is clear – none of this would have come about without James. He brought his years of experience in business to bear on delivering this remarkable project in Maghera. Volunteers and staff came and went but James remained steadfast throughout.

“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.”