County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

, one of the nine counties of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retains a strong identity in popular culture. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of about 177,986; its county town is

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 m ...

. The county derives its name and general geographic location from Tír Eoghain, 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 the most prominent family of the North ...

which existed until the 17th century.

Name

The name ''Tyrone'' is derived , the name given to the conquests made by the Cenél nEógain from the provinces of Airgíalla and Ulaid.Art Cosgrove (2008); "A New History of Ireland, Volume II: Medieval Ireland 1169-1534". Oxford University Press. 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, and comprised part of modern-day

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

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 River Finn (County Donegal), Finn and River Mourne, Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Repub ...

. 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 Inishowen West (), also called West Inishowen or Innishowen West, is a barony in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in ...

, East Inishowen, Raphoe North and Raphoe South in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

. In 1608 during O'Doherty's Rebellion areas of the country were plundered and burnt by the forces of Sir Cahir O'Doherty following his destruction of Derry. However, O'Doherty's men avoided the estates of the recently fled Earl of Tyrone around Dungannon, 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, Lough Neagh, rising gradually across to the more mountainous terrain in the west of the county, the area surrounding the Sperrin Mountains, the highest point being Sawel Mountain at a height of 678 m (2,224 ft). 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, to the northeastern corner near Meenard Mountain is ; giving an area of 1,261 square miles (in 1900). Annaghone lays claim to be the geographical centre of Northern Ireland. Tyrone is connected by land to the county of Fermanagh to the southwest;

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...

to the south;

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

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, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

. 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 Tyrone County Council was the authority responsible for local government in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. History Tyrone County Council was formed under orders issued in accordance with the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 which came into ef ...

from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973.

Demography

It is one of four counties 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

community background, according to the 2011 census. In 1900 County Tyrone had a population of 197,719, while in 2011 it was 177,986.

Settlements

Large towns

(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census) *

Medium towns

(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census) * Cookstown * Dungannon * Strabane

Small towns

(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census) * Coalisland

Intermediate settlements

(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census) * Castlederg

Villages

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

Moy Moy may refer to: Places * Loch Moy, a loch south of Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland ** Moy, Highland, a village beside Loch Moy ** Moy Hall Moy Hall near the village of Moy, south of Inverness, is the home of the chiefs of the Clan M ...

* Newtownstewart * Sion Mills

Small villages

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

Subdivisions

Baronies * Clogher *

Dungannon Lower Dungannon Lower (named after Dungannon town) is a historic barony in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was created in 1851 with the splitting of the barony of Dungannon. It is bordered by four other baronies in Northern Ireland: Dungannon M ...

* Dungannon Middle * Dungannon Upper *

Omagh East Omagh East (named after Omagh town) is a barony in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is bordered by nine other baronies: Omagh West and Lurg to the west; Strabane Lower and Strabane Upper to the north; Dungannon Middle and Dungannon ...

* 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.

Sport

Major sports in Tyrone include Gaelic games,

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

: *

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

is more widely played than

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

in Tyrone. The Tyrone GAA 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. Omagh Town Football and Athletic Club was a Northern Irish association football club that was based in Omagh, County Tyrone. Founded in 1962, the club played in the Northern Irish Football League from 1990 until its closure in 2005. They won th ...

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 top division. Other teams include NIFL Championship side

Dergview F.C. Dergview Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. History The club, founded in 1980, hails from Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and plays its matches at Darragh Park. C ...

*Rugby union is very popular in the county.

Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years a ...

plays in the All-Ireland League. Other teams include Omagh RFC, Clogher Valley RFC, Cookstown RFC and Strabane RFC. *International

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

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 Philomena Begley (born 20 October 1942) is a country music singer from Northern Ireland. In 1975, Begley had a hit with her version of the Billie Jo Spears' song Blanket on the Ground reaching higher sales then Spears in both the UK and Irelan ...

, Irish country music singer * James E. Boyd, seventh Governor of Nebraska * Paul Brady, musician * William Burke (1792–1829), grave robber and murderer * Peter Canavan, former All Ireland Tyrone captain * William Carleton (1794–1869), writer * Chipzel, musician * Darren Clarke, professional golfer * Tom Clarke, Irish Republican and leader of the 1916 Easter Rising * Jimmy Cricket, comedian *

Sidney Elisabeth Croskery Sidney Elisabeth Croskery OBE (26 January 1901 – 1990) was an Irish medical doctor, traveller and writer who spent almost twenty-seven years in Arabia treating illnesses, particularly blindness, and establishing ante-natal services. Life Si ...

, doctor * Austin Currie, politician, founding member SDLP;

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(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, Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms s ...

(TD) * Janet Devlin,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

artist and contestant on '' The X Factor'' (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" by Loreen. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

* Brian Dooher, former captain of the Tyrone senior football team * Hugo Duncan, singer and broadcaster on BBC Radio Ulster * John Dunlap (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 or declaration of statehood or proclamation 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 ...

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 req ...

, dramatist and theatre director *

Sylvia Hermon Sylvia Eileen, Lady Hermon (née Paisley; born 11 August 1955) is a retired Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of North Down from 2001 to 2019. She was first elected fo ...

, Member of Parliament for North Down, born in

Galbally, County Tyrone Galbally (Placenames NI
Aaron Hughes, captain of the Northern Ireland football team * John Hughes (1797–1864), first Archbishop of

Roman Catholic Diocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boro ...

* Martin Hurson, Irish Republican * Ryan Kelly, singer with Celtic Thunder * Benedict Kiely (1919–2007), writer and broadcaster * Gerry McKenna 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, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually speciali ...

; Vice Chancellor and President,

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

; Senior Vice President, Royal Irish AcademyProfessor P G (Gerry) McKenna
. ''gerrymckenna.co.uk''. *

William McMaster William McMaster (24 December 1811 – 22 September 1887) was a Canadian wholesaler, senator and banker in the 19th century. A director of the Bank of Montreal from 1864 to 1867, he was a driving force behind the creation of the Canadian ...

(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 William Forbes Marshall (8 May 1888 – January 1959) was an Irish poet and Presbyterian minister from Sixmilecross, County Tyrone, Ireland. Marshall's father was principal teacher at Sixmilecross National School, where he was first edu ...

(1888–1954), the 'Bard of Tyrone', Presbyterian minister, author and poet *

Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mell ...

, 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 Dominic Ó Mongáin, or Dominic Mungan, was an Irish harper and poet, born around 1715 in County Tyrone. The poem and air ''An raibh tú ag an gCarraig?'', translated by Walsh as Have you been at Carrick?, has been attributed to him. He was the f ...

(1715–1770s), poet and 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 * Thomas Porter, member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Martha M. Simpson (1864-1948), educationalist *

Victor Sloan Victor Sloan MBE (born 1945) is a Northern Irish photographer and artist. Life and work Sloan was born in 1945 in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He studied at the Royal School, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone and Belfast and Leeds Colleges ...

MBE, visual artist *

Ivan Sproule Ivan Sproule (born 18 February 1981) is a Northern Irish retired professional footballer who was most recently manager of NIFL Championship side Dergview. Early in his career, Sproule played in Northern Ireland for Omagh Town and Institute. ...

, football player for Bristol City F.C. * Dennis Taylor, former

world snooker champion The World Snooker Championship is an annual snooker tournament founded in 1927, and played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England since 1977. The tournament is now played over seventeen days in late April and early May, and is chronologi ...

* John K. Tener, former baseball player and Governor of Pennsylvania. Creator of Congressional Baseball Game. *

Colin Broderick Colin Broderick is a writer and filmmaker. Raised in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Broderick moved to New York City in 1988 when he was 20. Works Books Broderick's first memoir, ''Orangutan'', was published by Random House in 2009. It des ...

, Author and Filmographer.

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 Tyrone O'Neill dynasty