Local Hero Carol Doey and the Community Hub She Built

Cookstown’s ‘local hero’ has created a unique community hub where the kettle is always on.

Mandi Millar reports

When Stewartstown woman Carol Doey (67) first dreamed of a community hub for Cookstown, perhaps only she had the vision for what it could become.

But thank goodness she did, for 15 years later thousands of people have benefited from the fun, friendship and sense of belonging created at The Hub BT80 in the heart of the Tyrone town.

Now Carol’s hard work and dedication, not to mention her seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm, have earned her the title of Local Hero of the Year at the recent Pride of Tyrone Awards.

Not that Carol thinks she has done anything special.

“To be honest, I was a wee bit uncomfortable to be nominated. I just think what I do is very normal,” says Carol, who, when many of her peers were looking towards retirement, launched The Hub to focus on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Alongside just two part-time workers and an army of volunteers, she runs a full programme of events four days a week.

However, it was arguably her love of writing and her own need to feel a sense of belonging that ultimately became the catalyst for creating this unique community venue.

Although she is now the heart and soul of The Hub, Carol admits that as a young woman she struggled to find her niche.

Even as a child, however, she realised writing could create a powerful connection with people.

“And when I realised I could make people laugh with what I wrote, well it was like winning the lottery,” laughs Carol.

“If they were laughing, then they were not thinking about their troubles. I could never bear other people’s pain.”

Despite her obvious literary talent, Carol’s career took her into the hospitality trade. She continued to write plays and established the town’s Open Door Theatre Group, with productions often reflecting the lives of local working-class women.

“My first play was about a Catholic man and a Protestant woman meeting in their 50s but still being afraid to tell their parents, who were in their 80s, that they were getting married,” recalls Carol.

“So many people in mixed marriages wrote to tell me how the play connected with them.

“Another play, Don’t Die Wondering, was set in a nursing home where people faced cremation because space in the local cemetery was running out, which is actually happening here.

“So although they are comedies, they have subtle messages throughout and hopefully start conversations about difficult issues.”

Most of Carol’s plays are staged in Cookstown’s Burnavon Theatre, but when her latest production, The Last Leg, sold out for five nights at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, it was a dream come true.

“We just couldn’t believe it,” admits Carol, whose theatre group had come a long way from rehearsing in an outhouse.

“At one stage we ended up in an old sheep byre a local farmer cleared out for us. The cold would have skinned a goat and the smell was rotten, but we were grateful,” she laughs.

It was during this time that the seed of The Hub was planted. Carol realised that if she could find a proper base for the Open Door Theatre, it could also serve the wider community.

After identifying premises on Burn Road in Cookstown, her passion project began, despite the building having been unused for years and in a state of serious disrepair.

With the help of family and friends, including her mentor, the late Joe Farrell, the building was transformed into what is now The Hub BT80.

“We only had £9,000 in the bank to do everything I wanted, and my husband Tony, who is so supportive, was worried,” admits Carol, though she prefers to see obstacles as opportunities.

She wrote to local businesses asking for support, explaining her vision for a community hub where people could feel a sense of ownership and belonging, something she herself had always longed for.

“I don’t write the kind of letter someone from Queen’s University would write,” she smiles. “I wrote from the heart. When the first cheques came in, I knew I had to make it work.

“Every day we would come into The Hub and Joe would say, ‘There’s another lock of letters here for you’, and that is how we got launched.”

From those early days, The Hub has gone on to touch the lives of thousands of local people. It hosts classes ranging from yoga and creative writing to mindfulness and music lessons, alongside a weekly free lunch, a monthly tea dance and, of course, no one leaves without a cup of tea.

It is also home to The Hub Ramblers, founded by Carol to encourage people to get out and about, and The Hub Choir, an inclusive group that performs regularly at community events.

And it remains the base for the Open Door Theatre, where it all began.

“My own experience means I love seeing people recognise their potential and appreciate their worth,” says this local hero.

“What we do here is simply help people discover who they are. Hopefully, we give them the encouragement they need to build their self-esteem and move on to do whatever they want in life.”