James believed it would benefit Maghera to establish an inclusive community facility based on history and culture
A former director of Maghera Heritage & Cultural Society, who was at the helm of the organisation for ten years, has sadly died.
James Armour, who was aged 80, died peacefully at St Luke's Hospital, Kilkenny, on Sunday, September 6.
According to a death notice, a private cremation has taken place in accordance with his own wishes.
Mr Armour grew up in the Beagh area, just outside Maghera, and later left Northern Ireland 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 Mr Armour’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.
In 2024, Mr Armour announced that he was retiring from the organisation.