County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, one of the nine counties of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and one of the thirty-two traditional

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Its county town is

Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...

. Adjoined to the south-west shore of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

, the county covers an area of , making it the largest of Northern Ireland's six counties by size, and the second largest county in Ulster after Donegal. With a population of 188,383 as of the 2021 census, Tyrone is the 5th most populous county in both Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the 11th most populous county on the island of Ireland. The county derives its name and general geographic location from

Tír Eoghain Tír Eoghain (), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of ...

, a Gaelic kingdom under the

O'Neill dynasty The O'Neill dynasty ( Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically one of the most prominent family of the N ...

which existed until the 17th century.

Name

The name ''Tyrone'' is derived from the Irish , meaning 'land of Eoghan', the name given to the conquests made by the from the provinces of and

Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...

. Historically, it was anglicised as ''Tirowen'' or ''Tyrowen'', which are closer to the Irish pronunciation.

History

Historically Tyrone (then Tír Eoghain or Tirowen) was much larger in size, stretching as far north as

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over t ...

, and comprised part of modern-day

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

east of the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610 and 1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on natural resources located there. Tyrone was the traditional stronghold of the various O'Neill clans and families, the strongest of the Gaelic Irish families in

, surviving into the seventeenth century. The ancient principality of Tír Eoghain, the inheritance of the O'Neills, included the whole of the present counties of Tyrone and Londonderry, and the four baronies of West Inishowen, East Inishowen, Raphoe North and

Raphoe South Raphoe South (; ), or South Raphoe, is a barony in County Donegal, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. In 1608 during O'Doherty's Rebellion areas of the country were plundered and burnt by the forces of Sir

Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( or ; 1587 – 5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Irish chief of the O'Doherty clan, who in 1608 launched a failed rebellion against the English crown. O'Doherty was the eldest son of clan chief John O'Doherty, ruler of ...

following his destruction of Derry. However, O'Doherty's men avoided the estates of the recently fled

Earl of Tyrone The Earl of Tyrone is a title created three times in the Peerage of Ireland, and once in the Spanish nobility. It was created for the final time in 1746 for Marcus Beresford, 1st Viscount Tyrone, son-in-law of the last de Poer earls. His son wa ...

around

Dungannon Dungannon (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...

, fearing Tyrone's anger if he returned from his exile.

Geography

With an area of , Tyrone is the largest county in Northern Ireland. The flat peatlands of East Tyrone border the shoreline of the largest lake in the British Isles,

, rising gradually across to the more mountainous terrain in the west of the county, the area surrounding the

Sperrin Mountains The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a mountain range in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane and Mullaghcarn in the west, to Slieve Gallion and the Glenshane Pass in the east, in the counties of Tyrone and Londonderry. ...

, the highest point being Sawel Mountain at a height of . The length of the county, from the mouth of the River Blackwater at Lough Neagh to the western point near Carrickaduff hill is . The breadth, from the southern corner, southeast of

Fivemiletown Fivemiletown is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is 16 miles (26 km) east of Enniskillen and 26 miles (43 km) west-south-west of Dungannon, on the A4 road (Northern Ireland), A4 Enniskillen-to-Dungannon r ...

, to the northeastern corner near Meenard Mountain is ; giving an area of . Annaghone lays claim to be the

geographical centre In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. In ...

of Northern Ireland. Tyrone is connected by land to the counties of

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

to the southwest;

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

to the south;

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

to the southeast; Londonderry to the north; and Donegal to the west. Across Lough Neagh to the east, it borders

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. It is the eighth largest of Ireland's thirty-two counties by area and tenth largest by population. It is the second largest of Ulster's nine traditional counties by area and fourth largest by population. Blackrock Bridge - geograph

Administration

The county was administered by Tyrone County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973.

Demography

It is one of four

in Northern Ireland which currently has a majority of the population from a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

community background, according to the 2021 census. In 1900 County Tyrone had a population of 197,719, while in 2021 it was 188,383. At the time of the 2021 census, 66.49% were from a Catholic background, 28.88% were from a Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related), 0.66% were from other religions, and 3.97% had no religious background.

Irish language and Ulster Scots

In the 2021 UK census in County Tyrone: * 18.44% claim to have some knowledge of the Irish language, whilst 5.84% claim to be able to speak, read, write and understand spoken Irish. 3.62% claim to use Irish daily. 0.38% claim that Irish is their main language. * 8.15% claim to have some knowledge of Ulster Scots, whilst 0.91% claim to be able to speak, read, write and understand spoken Ulster Scots. 1.26% claim to use Ulster Scots daily.

Settlements

Large towns

(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2021 Census) *

Medium towns

(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2021 Census) *

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

Small towns

(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2021 Census) *

Coalisland Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining. History Origins In the late 1 ...

Intermediate settlements

(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2021 Census) *

Castlederg Castlederg (earlier Caslanadergy, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is near the border with County Donegal, Ireland. It stands in the townlands of Castlesessagh and Churchtown, in the historic baro ...

Villages

(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census) * Ardboe * Carrickmore * Dromore *

Fintona Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived Phonetics, phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is ...

* Killyclogher * Moy *

Newtownstewart Newtownstewart is a village and townland of in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is overlooked by hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray and lies on the River Strule below the confluence with its tributary the Owenkillew. It is situated in the ...

Sion Mills Sion Mills is a village to the south of Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on the River Mourne. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 2,050 people. It is a tree-lined industrial village and designated conservation area, particul ...

Small villages

(population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)

Subdivisions

Baronies * Clogher * Dungannon Lower * Dungannon Middle * Dungannon Upper * Omagh East * Omagh West * Strabane Lower * Strabane Upper Parishes Townlands

Future railway revival

There is the possibility of the line being reopened to Dungannon railway station from

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

Sport

Major sports in Tyrone include

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

: *

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

is more widely played than

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

in Tyrone. The

Tyrone GAA The Tyrone County Board (), or Tyrone GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. The county board is r ...

football side has had considerable success since 2000, winning four All Ireland titles (in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2021). They have also won sixteen Ulster titles (1956, 1957, 1973, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2021) and two National League titles (in 2002 and 2003). *Association football also has a large following in Tyrone. Omagh Town F.C. were members of the Irish Football League until they folded in 2005 due to financial problems. Dungannon Swifts F.C. compete in the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...

– the top division. Other teams include NIFL Championship side Dergview F.C. *Rugby union is very popular in the county. Dungannon RFC, Omagh Academicals RFC and Clogher Valley RFC play in the All-Ireland League. Other teams include Cookstown RFC and Strabane RFC. *International

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

is also played on the Bready Cricket Club Ground which is owned by Bready Cricket Club. It is Ireland's fourth venue for International Cricket hosting its first International Cricket match when

played against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in a series of T20I matches in June 2015. It was selected as a venue to host matches in the 2015 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier tournament.

Notable people

* Philomena Begley, Irish country music singer * James E. Boyd, seventh Governor of Nebraska * Paul Brady, musician * Conor Bradley, footballer * Colin Broderick, Author and Filmographer. * William Burke (1792–1829), grave robber and murderer * Peter Canavan, former All Ireland Tyrone captain * William Carleton (1794–1869), writer *

Chipzel Niamh Houston (born 23 September 1991), better known by her stage name Chipzel, is a musician from Northern Ireland. She is best known for making chiptune music, particularly Game Boy music, with a Game Boy. She is also a video game music comp ...

, musician *

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on ...

, professional golfer * Tom Clarke, Irish Republican and leader of the 1916

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

Jimmy Cricket James Mulgrew (born 17 October 1945), known professionally as Jimmy Cricket, is a Northern Irish comedian. He first came to prominence as a comedian in the 1970s and has had his own shows on television and radio. Early life and career Cricket ...

, comedian * Sidney Elisabeth Croskery, doctor *

Austin Currie Joseph Austin Currie (11 October 1939 – 9 November 2021) was an Irish politician who served as a Minister of State with responsibility for Children's Rights from 1994 to 1997. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency ...

, politician, founding member

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs ...

; Member of Parliament (MP) and later

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) * Janet Devlin,

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and pop artist and contestant on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' (UK) * Ryan Dolan, Ireland representative at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2013 The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria (Loreen song), Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the Europea ...

* Brian Dooher, former captain of the Tyrone senior football team * Hugo Duncan, singer and broadcaster on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish national radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. Acc ...

John Dunlap John Dunlap (21 August 1746 – 27 November 1812) was an Early American publishers and printers, early American printer who emigrated from Ulster, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and who printed the first copies of the United States Declaration of ...

(1747–1812), publisher of the first American daily newspaper the '' Pennsylvania Packet'' in 1784, also the printer of the American

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

, dramatist and theatre director * Sylvia Hermon, Member of Parliament for North Down, born in Galbally, County Tyrone * Aaron Hughes, captain of the Northern Ireland football team * John Hughes (1797–1864), first

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Roman Catholic Diocese of New York * Martin Hurson, Irish Republican * Ryan Kelly, singer with Celtic Thunder *

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 1 ...

(1919–2007), writer and broadcaster * Conor McKenna, AFL Player for the *

Gerry McKenna Patrick Gerald McKenna, Deputy Lieutenant, DL, Institute of Biomedical Science, FIBMS, Royal Society of Biology, FRSB, Royal Irish Academy, MRIA (born 10 December 1953), known informally and widely as Gerry McKenna, is a Chartered Biologist (CBiol ...

MRIA (1953–),

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

; Vice Chancellor and President,

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

; Senior Vice President, Royal Irish AcademyProfessor P G (Gerry) McKenna
. ''gerrymckenna.co.uk''. * William McMaster (1811–1887), founder of Canadian Bank of Commerce and namesake of McMaster University * Mary Mallon (1869–1938), more commonly known as Typhoid Mary * W. F. Marshall (1888–1954), the 'Bard of Tyrone', Presbyterian minister, author and poet * Thomas Mellon, founder of Mellon Bank, now Bank of New York Mellon * Sister Nivedita (1867–1911), Irish social activist * Flann O'Brien (1911–1966), writer * Dominic Ó Mongain (1715–1770s), poet and harpist * Arthur O'Neill (harpist), Arthur O'Neill (1737–1816), travelling blind Irish harpist * Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (Aodh Mór Ó Néill) (1550–1616), Irish leader during the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War * Thomas Porter (Wisconsin politician), Thomas Porter, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Martha M. Simpson (1864–1948), educationalist * Victor Sloan, visual artist * Ivan Sproule, football player for Bristol City F.C. * Dennis Taylor, former World Snooker Champion, world snooker champion * John K. Tener, former baseball player and Governor of Pennsylvania. Creator of Congressional Baseball Game.

References

External links

Tyrone on the interactive map of the counties of Great Britain and Ireland
– Wikishire
A Flavour of TyroneCounty Tyrone.com
{{Authority control County Tyrone, Ulster, Tyrone Counties of Northern Ireland, O'Neill dynasty