In his long career as Enniskillen Townhall Superintendent, Frankie Roofe has seen 19 Chairmen of Fermanagh District Council come and go, five chief executives take the reins of the Council and of course worked with hundreds of staff.

However more particular to Frankie’s role, he has welcomed hundreds if not thousands of visitors to the iconic building at the Diamond, leading them on a tour of the facilities and imparting his amazing knowledge of Enniskillen’s history and culture.

This week, after 31 years in a job he made his own, Frankie has closed the solid front door of the Townhall for the last time as its keeper and minder.

Frankie has been one of the pivotal people in the Townhall during three decades for people to turn to, seeking advice and generally helping with enquiries.

Starting his first day in the job on March 13 1984, he had taken over from Eric Glass, as Townhall assistant, in support of the then Superintendent, Edmund McGinty. But as Edward was off on sick leave at the time and was not able to return to his job, Frankie assumed his role very quickly.

“From that time, I had responsibility to look after the Townhall, driving the official car, firstly a Rover and latterly a Ford Granada with registration plate, BIL 606 to bring the Chairman of the Council to civic receptions and events, setting up the room for meetings and generally being responsible from 7am until late at night,” said Frankie recalling the Chairman in 1984 was Caldwell McClaughry.

Working for five chief executives, Frankie particularly recalled his first, “Mr. Burns” or Gerry Burns, who strongly encouraged visitors to be welcomed to the Townhall, a role Frankie excelled at. Every chief executive since supported that ideal. Gerry Burns was succeeded as chief executive of Fermanagh Council by Aideen McGinley, Rodney Connor, Brendan Hegarty and latterly, Robert Gibson, as acting chief executive during the changeover to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council when Brendan Hegarty was appointed chief executive.

In addition to his statutory duties within the Townhall, Frankie developed the job further which would embrace visitors from all over the world. These visitors have came from all over the British Isles, parts of Europe, USA and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, calling in to the Council headquarters in the hope of finding information about relatives from Fermanagh.

Frankie recalls how the genealogy aspect of his role came about. He had overheard a visitor from the USA waiting to see the Registrar, making enquiries about a relative from the town and if anyone could help. When Frankie offered his help, to his astonishment, the area she referred to was the former Enniskillen Arms Hotel which was next door to his old family home at Strand Street, just beside the police station. He knew a relative, phoned her and got both of them together.

“I knew these people so well she was trying to research and she couldn’t believe it. It all started from that,” said Frankie.

He knew that in such a tightknit area of Fermanagh, there were plenty of people who knew someone with a connection to those who had emigrated years before. So apart from a tour of the Townhall which has been offered twice daily -“no-one has been refused” - in which the history of Enniskillen, the Council and the Townhall have all been explained, Frankie has helped visitors find long lost relatives or certainly their family’s homesteads somewhere in the county. Part of the tour includes stopping points at the interesting aerial photographs of Enniskillen over the years taken in 1949, 1959,1963 and 2000 which highlight the development of the island town.

The Townhall that Frankie knows well has not only been the centre of Enniskillen history but also culture and social life. In years gone by before the cinemas arrived, it was the venue for silent movies and the “talkies” as well as dances, the Hunt Ball and the Hospital Ball. Frankie was involved with Enniskillen Corinthians Football Club in 1969 when they used the Townhall for a dance.

Frankie has seen quite a bit of the development of the town as he has grown up in it for most of his life although not actually born here. He reckons he was about one and a half years old when his family moved from London to settle at Strand Street, just beside the police station. As part of the town’s developments, the houses in this area were demolished and the Roofe family found a new home at Kilmacormick.

Of course, there have been plenty of VIPs calling in to the Townhall as well. They don’t get much better than Princess Diana and President Bill Clinton.

“We have records here showing when Princess Elizabeth was here in 1949 just a few years before she became Queen and the Queen Mother was here in 1962. King Leopold of the Belgians who was Colonel in Chief of the Royal Inniskillings Dragoons was here when he was made the Freedom of the town. We have had government ministers and Consul Generals, he explained, as well as chatting with excitement about those memorable days when Princess Diana called at the Townhall after the 1987 Remembrance Day bomb and when President Clinton visited the town.

While Frankie has moved on, tours of the Townhall for visitors will continue but in a slightly different format. A filmed tour of the Townhall has been recorded to be shown to visitors.

He says John McCabe has been very helpful supporting him with his genealogy links and with local history but it also takes a good head for dates to retain the information.

“I am able to recall dates from stories I’ve read. I’ve read Trimble’s History volumes 1, 2 and 3. He published some great stories from the past and he didn’t realise how they could be used to-day,” said Frankie.

“I’ve had a great career in the Townhall. It’s a unique role that has evolved over the years. When I look at it now, the town has improved greatly and the Council has been to the forefront of all the facilities such as the sports provision, play areas, Round O for boating and the place is clean and tidy. Enniiskillen has won the Best Kept Award for seven out of the last 10 years. It speaks volumes for the staff,” he added.

Frankie has high praise for his colleagues and for all the councillors he has worked with over the years.

While he will miss the banter of Townhall chats, he is continuing to pursue his passion for angling as well as his genealogy service. His vast knowledge of Fermanagh and its people will continue to come in useful to the many visitors who come here each year.