County Tyrone 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 Londonderry 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 Londonderry 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.
Omagh is the county town of
County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, situated where the rivers Drumragh and
Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the
county, has an estimated population of 21,708 and a further 28,000 live in
the Omagh District Council area (2006 estimate).
Strabane is a town in the
west of County Tyrone and the north-west of Northern Ireland. The town
straddles the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
with the town of Lifford, County Donegal, to the west. Strabane is the
second largest town in the county. It stands roughly half-way between Omagh
and Derry and roughly half-way between Omagh and Letterkenny and has a
population of 15,000 people.
Cookstown is a town in County
Tyrone in Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county
(next to Omagh, Strabane and Dungannon respectively) and has a population of
10,646 people (in the 2001 Census). Cookstown's main street, known as
the One Mile Street, is the longest, widest and deepest in Northern Ireland.
Castlederg is a large village
in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, lying on the River Derg. It is the most
westerly town in Tyrone and is a busy market town serving an important
agricultural area. The town has a ruined castle and two ancient tombs known
as the Druid's Altar and Todd's Den. It had a population of 2,758 people in
the 2001 Census. Traditionally Castlederg was a traveller’s stop along the
ancient pilgrimage route to Station Island on Lough Derg. The town boasts
ancient ruins, monastic settlements and as the stories go has connections to
Davy Crockett and Joe Sheridan the creator of Irish Coffee. |