Dr Tony Bates on Mindfulness, The Tara Centre Omagh

What to Expect

Dr Tony Bates gives an evening talk on mindfulness at The Tara Centre in Omagh on Friday 25 September 2026, running from 7pm to 8:30pm. Bates is a clinical psychologist with decades of practice behind him and is best known as the founder of Jigsaw, the national centre for youth mental health in Ireland. He has written and broadcast widely on depression, anxiety and recovery, so the evening comes from a clinical rather than a purely contemplative starting point.

The session looks at how mindfulness practice supports healing, builds resilience and helps people recover a deeper sense of aliveness, and Bates draws on his clinical experience to talk about how the approach can loosen the grip of the past. The framing is practical and aimed at anyone dealing with stress, anxiety or burnout, whether personally or in a caring or professional role. The Tara Centre itself is a long-established Omagh centre for healing and personal growth that runs a programme of talks, courses and retreats, and it hosts this evening as organiser. It is a ninety-minute in-person session, booked in advance through Eventbrite, with ticket pricing shown at the point of booking.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Friday 25 September 2026, 7pm to 8:30pm
• Venue: The Tara Centre, 11 Holmview Avenue, Omagh, BT79 0AH
• Price: check at the point of booking; tickets are issued through Eventbrite
• Speaker: Dr Tony Bates, clinical psychologist and founder of Jigsaw
• Format: single ninety-minute in-person talk, not a course
• Organiser: The Tara Centre, Omagh
• Who it is for: anyone navigating stress, anxiety or burnout, and those supporting others through it
• Booking in advance is advised, as the centre’s talks are held in a room of limited capacity

Getting There

The Tara Centre is on Holmview Avenue in Omagh, off the Gortin Road on the northern side of the town and within a short drive of the town centre. Omagh is reached on the A5 from Strabane and Derry to the north and from Ballygawley and the M1 to the south, on the A32 from Enniskillen and on the A505 from Cookstown. There is parking at the centre and on nearby streets. Ulsterbus services from Belfast, Derry, Enniskillen and Dublin call at the Omagh bus centre on Mountjoy Road, roughly a mile away.