First Trust Bank, 8 High Street, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, BT78 1BH

First Trust Bank is an attached three-storey stone bank on the north side of High Street in Omagh, built around 1925 to designs by Morris and Kavanagh. The building was originally constructed as the Munster and Leinster Bank and retains an M&L cartouche within a pediment on its principal façade.

The bank demonstrates fine classical detailing and substantial civic presence through its ashlar limestone walling over a splayed plinth. The principal south-facing elevation is symmetrically composed with eight openings wide overall. The right three windows and central section are flanked by single-opening-wide breakfronts to each side. Ground floor has Roman Ionic columns between windows, with a square-headed transomed multi-light timber casement window (former carriage arch) to the right breakfront and a square-headed replacement varnished timber door with multi-light overlight to the left end. The door is set within splayed limestone reveals flanked by Roman Ionic pilasters supporting an open triangular pediment. The first floor windows are square-headed painted timber 1/1 sashes with moulded limestone architraves, keyblocks and moulded sills. Each window has a pediment over, alternating between triangular and segmental arched forms, with triangular pediments at the ends. A dentilled entablature rises from ground floor to first floor sill-course, and a modillioned entablature supporting a cement-rendered parapet crowns the façade. The roof is parapet-concealed.

A full-height extension to the west was added in 1984, detailed to match the principal elevation. The extension ground floor features a square-headed carriage arch with modern varnished timber panelled double doors and an ATM insertion. A modern lift shaft extension to the rear and modern single- and two-storey additions to the rear are of no architectural interest. The roofs were remodelled in 1990 using rubber butyl, and in 2000 a new lift shaft and steelwork to roof and fire escape were added.

The rear and west elevations are largely concealed by the extension and adjoining buildings. The exposed rear elevation is rendered with windows lacking architraves. The west gable is completely abutted by the extension. Internal historic fabric has been substantially lost through alterations and refurbishment.

Valuation records show a previous building on this site from 1833 onwards, originally recorded as a shop valued at £19 and occupied by H. Mawhinney. In 1925 this property was noted as "down... with new buildings in progress", and in 1927 the Munster Leinster Bank Ltd was recorded as occupier of a bank, manager's house, offices and yard valued at £126. Before the 1984 remodelling, the bank manager lived above the banking hall. The bank was extended onto the site of the former Melville Hotel in 1984. The Munster and Leinster Bank merged with Provincial Bank in 1984, which resulted in the redundancy of the former Provincial Bank building. The property was refurbished and extended under the bank name Allied Irish. First Trust Bank was subsequently created in 1991 following the merger of TSB Northern Ireland with interests controlled by AIB Group, of which it remains part.

The bank is set back from High Street by a concrete pavement with a tarmac parking lot to the rear, enclosed by a high rendered boundary wall accessed via a carriage arch under the extension.