First Omagh Presbyterian Church

History

The congregation was formed in 1676, when the first church building opened at Crevenagh just outside Omagh. Rev. Samuel Halliday, a native of Scotland who had served in Connaught, was installed as minister the following year. He fled to Scotland at the time of the Revolution of 1688, and the congregation was vacant for almost ten years until Rev. James Maxwell was ordained in November 1699 with a stipend of £40 a year plus 40 barrels of oats.

A second church, on the Dublin Road, was built during Maxwell's ministry in 1721 and was used until the present building opened in 1897. The 1721 church has been restored and erected at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Cultra. Rev. Hugh Delap of Ramelton was ordained and installed in 1751; his election was not unanimous, and a number of families left to form Second Omagh, later known as Trinity.

The Dublin Road church was renovated and officially reopened in 1862. In 1875 the manse at Kevlin, outside the town, was burned down and all the church records were destroyed. The present church, with halls and a sexton's house, was built during the ministry of Rev. Andrew Macafee, who was installed in 1893 and retired in 1925.