Contae Thír Eoghain is the Irish name; Countie Tyrone,[3]Coontie Tyrone[4] and Coontie Owenslann[5] are Ulster Scots spellings (the latter used only by Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council).
Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,261 square miles (3,266 km2),[1] 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, a Gaelic kingdom under the O'Neill dynasty which existed until the 17th century.
Name
The name Tyrone is derived from Irish Tír Eoghain 'land of Eoghan', the name given to the conquests made by the Cenél nEógain from the provinces of Airgíalla and Ulaid.[7] Historically, it was anglicised as Tirowen or Tyrowen, which are closer to the Irish pronunciation.
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 east of the River Foyle. 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 Ulster, 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 in County Donegal.[14]
With an area of 1,261 square miles (3,266 km2), 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 metres (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 55 miles (89 km). The breadth, from the southern corner, southeast of Fivemiletown, to the northeastern corner near Meenard Mountain is 37.5 miles (60.4 km); giving an area of 1,261 sq mi (3,270 km2).[14] Annaghone lays claim to be the geographical centre of Northern Ireland.
Tyrone is connected by land to the counties of Fermanagh to the southwest; Monaghan to the south; Armagh to the southeast; Londonderry to the north; and Donegal to the west. Across Lough Neagh to the east, it borders County Antrim. It is the eighth largest of Ireland's thirty-two counties by area and tenth largest by population.[16] It is the second largest of Ulster's nine traditional counties by area and fourth largest by population.[17]
Blackrock Bridge near Newtownstewart, carrying the closed GNR mainline that ran through the county
Administration
The county was administered by Tyrone County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973.[18]
It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland which currently has a majority of the population from a Catholic community background, according to the 2021 census.[19] In 1900 County Tyrone had a population of 197,719,[14] 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.[19]
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.
Gaelic football is more widely played than hurling 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)[27] and two National League titles (in 2002[28] and 2003[29]).
^ abNorthern Ireland General Register Office (1975). "Table 1: Area, Buildings for Habitation and Population, 1971". Census of Population 1971; Summary Tables(PDF). Belfast: HMSO. p. 1. Archived(PDF) from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
^Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
^ abcJoyce, Patrick Weston; Sullivan, Alexander Martin; Nunan, P. D. (1900). Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland. Murphy and McCarthy. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2009. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^McCavitt, John. The Flight of the Earls. Gill & MacMillan, 2002. p.143-44
^Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline Ireland. pp. 186–191. ISBN0-340-89695-7.
