County Tyrone
| Tyrone Contae Thír Eoghain |
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| Location | ||
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Ulster | |
| County seat: | Omagh | |
| Area: | 3,155 km² (1,218 sq mi) | |
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Population (2001 census) |
166,516[1] | |
County Tyrone (Irish: Contae Thír Eoghain) is the second largest of the nine counties of Ulster and the largest of the six counties of Northern Ireland. It has an area of 3,155 square kilometres (1,218 square miles).
The county borders the Northern Ireland counties of Armagh, to the south-east, Fermanagh, to the south-west and County Derry to the north-east. The county also borders Lough Neagh to the east. The borders with the Republic of Ireland are County Monaghan to the south and County Donegal to the north-west.
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Derry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 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 Ulster, surviving into the seventeenth century. It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland which presently has a majority of the population from a Catholic community background, according to the 2001 census.
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District Councils
Tyrone is split into four districts:
- Strabane District Council
- Cookstown District Council
- Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council
- Omagh District Council
Towns
The county town of Tyrone is Omagh. the next largest towns are Strabane, Dungannon and Cookstown respectively. Other towns include Fivemiletown, Castlederg, Coalisland, Donaghmore, Ardboe, Pomeroy, and Carrickmore.
Geography
With an area of 3,155 square kilometres (1,218 square miles), Tyrone is the largest county in Northern Ireland. The flat peatlands of East Tyrone borders the shoreline of the largest lake in Ireland, 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).
Sports
The major sports in Tyrone are Gaelic games. Gaelic football is more widely played than hurling. The Tyrone GAA football side has had considerable success since the turn of the century winning three All Ireland titles (in 2003, 2005 and 2008) and are the reigning All-Ireland Champions, they have also won three Ulster titles (2001, 2003 and 2007)[2] and two National League titles (in 2002 and 2003).
Underage Gaelic football teams have also had considerable successes on the field at both provincial and national level - winning the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship seven times (the most recent, also in 2008) and the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship four times.
Association Football also has a large following. Omagh Town F.C. were members of the Irish Football League until they folded in 2005. Dungannon Swifts F.C. compete in the Irish Premier League. Other team's include Division One side Coagh United F.C. and Division Two sides Dergview F.C. and Killymoon Rangers F.C..
Rugby Union is very popular in the county. Dungannon RFC are one of only two Ulster teams currently playing in All Ireland League One. Other teams include Omagh RFC, Clogher Valley RFC, Cookstown RFC and Strabane RFC.
Notable residents
- Philomena Begley, Irish Country Music Singer - Ireland's Queen Of Country Music
- John Dunlap (1747-1812), Publisher of the first American daily newspaper the Pennsylvania Packet in 1784, was also the printer of the American Declaration of Independence.
- John Hughes, (1797-1864), born in Annaloghan, first Archbishop of Roman Catholic diocese of New York.[3]
- Peter Canavan, former All Ireland winning Tyrone captain and second top scorer in Senior Ulster Championship football.
- Ryan Kelly, one of the men of Celtic Thunder
- Brian Dooher, current captain of the Tyrone senior football team.
- Hugo Duncan, singer and broadcaster on BBC Radio.
- Dennis Taylor, former World Snooker Champion.
- Aaron Hughes, current captain of the Northern Ireland football team and also plays for Fulham.
- Benedict Kiely (1919-2007), writer and broadcaster
- Thomas Mellon, Founder of Mellon Bank, Now Bank of New York Mellon
- Flann O'Brien, 1911-1966, Writer
- William Burke, 1792-1829, Grave robber and murderer
- William Carleton, 1794-1869, Writer
References
- ↑ http://www.cookstown.gov.uk/Development/InformationSheetsEtc/EcDevLiterature/Socio-EconomicProfile/Population.pdf
- ↑ The Tyrone GAA team have won the Ulster Senior Championship on eight occasions before the turn of the century
- ↑ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
- The Memoirs of John M. Regan, a Catholic Officer in the RIC and RUC, 1909–48, Joost Augusteijn, editor, District Inspector, Co. Tyrone, 1920s, ISBN 978-1-84682-069-4.
See also
- Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Tyrone)
- List of places in County Tyrone
External links
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