Thanks to Enniskillen BID, the island town has received another artistic addition – an array of brightly-coloured umbrellas covering Market Street, beside Charlie’s Bar.

Although not a new idea, with similar installations in other Northern Ireland locations including Belfast, the canopy of umbrellas that have recently appeared in Enniskillen are arguably most appropriately placed in the Fermanagh town, due to the county being notorious for its rainfall.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Enniskillen BID Manager Noelle McAloon explained that this particular project had been on the cards for quite a while.

“We had actually purchased the umbrellas at the start of the Public Realm Scheme, because we wanted to do something to distract from it, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and we kind of nearly forgot about them.

“So this was definitely a long time coming! We have a really good relationship with Una [Burns] in Charlie’s, and at a meeting a couple of months ago, she said, ‘Do you still have those umbrellas?’

“And I was like, ‘Oh my goodness – your street would be perfect for it’.

Umbrellas Charlies Bar.

Umbrellas Charlies Bar.

“So we got a few expert tradesman who had a look at the umbrellas and they put up the lines so that they were all safe and secure.

“[Installation took] a day and a half last week, and there you go,” said Noelle, noting that the response so far has been extremely positive: “It’s lovely to see great social media comments, people saying that it adds colour.”

The umbrella canopy is the latest in a number of art projects to be implemented in the town, following on from the various murals that have been painted throughout the streets, the little golden swallows trail, and the alternative name plaques, to name but a few.

However, unlike the other projects, the umbrellas will be a temporary project.

Noelle explained: “These are just real umbrellas, so they will wear. I’m hoping that we’ll get six weeks out of them, and then the idea would be that we will have it return in springtime, because stormy weather and umbrellas on a long-term basis, I just don’t think they’ll work [as a public installation here].

“Hopefully, people will enjoy them now for the next six weeks, and then we’ll try and bring them back again in springtime,” she told this newspaper.