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Beaghmore, County Tyrone
Photograph: Wax0nightmare · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Province of Ulster

County Tyrone

Tír Eoghain

“teer OWN” · land of Eoghan, from tír (land) + Eoghan

Known as The Red Hand County. For the Red Hand of Ulster, the emblem of the O'Neills, whose seat at Dungannon was the capital of Gaelic Ulster until the Flight of the Earls in 1607. Popular lists often give Tyrone the Oak Leaf instead, which belongs to Derry.

Did you know? The Beaghmore stone circles lay hidden under blanket bog until turf-cutters uncovered them in the late 1930s. More may still lie beneath.
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Tyrone by the numbers
Ulster province 188,383 people · 2021 census 3,266 km² · 8th of 32 by size County town Omagh -18% in the Famine · 312,956 people in 1841, 255,661 in 1851 8 baronies · 2,152 townlands 30 surnames 3 towns on the site 19,216 Irish speakers · 2021 Highest point Sawel, 678 m 4 senior All-Irelands 30 notable people born here Everything on the site about Tyrone ↓
Carlow Cavan Cork Donegal Dublin Clare Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

Open the atlas ↗

The history of Tyrone

Tyrone is Tír Eoghain, the land of the O'Neills, the strongest Gaelic family in Ulster, who held on into the 17th century. Their old principality reached far beyond today's county — all of what is now Londonderry and four baronies of Donegal — and most of County Londonderry was carved out of it between 1610 and 1620 for the London companies. During O'Doherty's Rebellion in 1608 his men burned and plundered, but left alone the estates of the Earl of Tyrone around Dungannon, fearing his anger if he came back from exile.

Drawn from the History section of the Wikipedia article on County Tyrone ↗, rewritten here and adding nothing it does not say; licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The chronology above is this site's own; where the two differ, the article is the one to check.

The land — from Wikipedia

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 . 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 . Annaghone lays claim to be the geographical centre of Northern Ireland.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Clans & surnames of Tyrone
Bradley Ó Brolcháin Gaelic sept / English place-name surname · “descendant of Brolachán, a diminutive of Brólach” Campbell Mac Cathmhaoil (adopted) Scottish (gallowglass & planter) · “cam beul, 'crooked mouth'” Carolan Ó Cearbhalláin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Cearbhallán, 'little Cearbhall'” Conlan Ó Conalláin / Ó Caoindealbháin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Conallán — a diminutive of Conall” Cooney Ó Cuana Gaelic sept · “descendant of Cuana” Devlin Ó Doibhilin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Doibhilean” Donnelly Ó Donnghaile Gaelic sept · “descendant of Donnghal, 'brown valour'” Garrahy Mag Fhearadhaigh Gaelic sept · “son of Fearadhach, 'manly'” Gilsenan Mac Giolla Seanáin Gaelic sept · “son of the servant of St Senan” Gormley Ó Goirmleaghaigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Goirmshleaghach, 'blue-spearman'” Hamill Ó hÁdhmaill Gaelic sept · “descendant of Ádhmall, 'quick, ready, active'” Henry Ó hInneirghe Gaelic septs (several) · “descendant of Inneirghe, ‘the rising, early riser’; or Mac Éinrí, son of Henry” Hughes Mac Aodha / Ó hAodha Gaelic sept · “son (or descendant) of Aodh, 'fire'” Laverty Ó Laithbheartaigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Flaithbheartach” Loughran Ó Luchaireáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Luchaireán, 'bright, glittering'” Lunney Ó Luinigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Luineach” Martin Mac Giolla Mháirtín / Máirtín Gaelic sept & Norman tribe · “devotee of St Martin” McGale Mac Cathail / Mac Cathmhaoil Gaelic sept · “son of Cathal, 'battle-mighty' — or of Cathmhaol, 'battle-chief'; the authorities differ” McKenna Mac Cionaoith Gaelic sept · “son of Cionaoth” McNally Mac Con Allaidh Gaelic sept · “son of Cú Allaidh, 'the wild hound' — the wolf” Mulgrew Ó Maolchraoibhe Gaelic sept · “descendant of Maolchraoibhe, 'chief of Craobh'” O'Hagan Ó hAodhagáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Aodhagán, a diminutive of Aodh, 'fire'” O'Neill Ó Néill Gaelic dynasty · “descendant of Niall (Glúndub)” Quinn Ó Cuinn Gaelic sept · “descendant of Conn, 'chief'” Rafferty Ó Raithbheartaigh Gaelic sept · “a corruption of Ó Robhartaigh” Sharkey Ó Searcaigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Searcach, 'loving'” Stewart Stíobhard Ulster Scots · “steward of the royal household” Taggart Mac an tSagairt Gaelic sept · “son of the priest” Traynor Mac Thréinfhir Gaelic sept · “son of Tréanfhear, 'champion' — literally 'strong man'” Wilson — Ulster Scots / English · “son of Will”

Tap a name for its full page — story, homeland map and neighbours. Or see all surnames from County Tyrone, with the other counties each name is tied to.

Towns, saints and legends of Tyrone

Towns. Omagh An Ómaigh (20,353, 2021), Dungannon Dún Geanainn (16,361, 2021), Strabane An Srath Bán (13,507, 2021). What every town name means →

Legends set here. Knockmany — Fionn and Oonagh’s hill. On the atlas →

First names that belong here. Niall, Eoghan, Aodh.

Irish in Tyrone today

At the 2021 census, 19,216 people in Tyrone aged 3 and over said they could speak Irish, and 11,002 could speak, read, write and understand it. 6,822 speak it daily, and for 707 it is their main language.

NISRA, Census 2021, Flexible Table Builder (county geography, built by NISRA from Data Zones; Belfast is split between Antrim and Down). All six counties →

The top of Tyrone

Sawel (Samhail), 678 metres, in the Sperrin Mountains, on the county boundary and shared with a neighbouring county.

Rivers and loughs: River Foyle, River Blackwater, River Finn, Lough Neagh.

MountainViews, via Wikipedia. Every county's highest point → · Rivers and loughs →

Tyrone in the All-Ireland

Hurling: no senior title.
Football: 4 senior titles (2003, 2005, 2008, 2021); 3 finals lost.

Every county's All-Ireland titles →

Born in Tyrone

From Wikidata: people whose recorded birthplace is in the county, who have a Wikipedia article and are no longer living, with dates shown only where the article confirms them, ordered by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in. Traditional birthplaces of early saints are as Wikidata records them. Dates are left off where the sources disagree.

People in Tyrone, census by census

Tyrone had 312,956 people in 1841 and has 188,383 now (-40%). Its peak was 312,956 in 1841; its low point 127,586 in 1937, -59% of 1841. It has never regained the population it had before the Famine.

1821183118411851186118711881189119011911192619371951196119661971198119912001
261,865304,468312,956255,661238,500215,766197,719171,401150,567142,665132,792127,586132,082133,919136,040139,073150,729156,284164,235

Census returns as tabulated in the county's Wikipedia article. All 32 counties, 1821 to today →

Hidden Tyrone — the places the buses miss
  • Beaghmore stone circles
    Seven stone circles, a dozen cairns and rows of tiny 'dragon's teeth' stones, hidden under bog for 3,500 years until turf-cutters found them in the 1940s.
  • Benburb
    June 1646: Owen Roe O'Neill's Spanish-trained army annihilates Monro's Scots on the Blackwater — the greatest Irish victory of the Confederate wars.
On the ground in Tyrone

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Everything on the site about County Tyrone

The county

History

Monuments and heritage

Coast and country

People and culture

Quick answers
What is the Irish name for County Tyrone?

Tír Eoghain. Tyrone is one of the 9 counties of Ulster (Cúige Uladh).

Who ruled County Tyrone in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Tír Eoghain (Mac Lochlainn / O'Neill); by 1450, O'Neill of Tír Eoghain. The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Tyrone?

Names historically associated with Tyrone include Bradley, Campbell, Carolan, Conlan, Cooney, Devlin, Donnelly, Garrahy, among others.

What does Tír Eoghain mean?

Tír Eoghain, said “teer OWN”, means land of Eoghan — from tír (land) + Eoghan. Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages; the O'Neill kingdom of Tír Eoghain lasted until the seventeenth century.

What is the population of County Tyrone?

188,383 at the 2021 census, against 312,956 in 1841, before the Famine.

What is the county town of Tyrone?

Omagh. County Tyrone covers about 3,266 km², which makes it the 8th largest of the 32 counties.

Who are famous people from County Tyrone?

Among the best-known people born in Tyrone are Sister Nivedita, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, Joseph MacRory, James Graham Fair, John Joseph Hughes. The full list, with their birthplaces, is on this page.

What did the Famine do to County Tyrone?

The census counted 312,956 people in Tyrone in 1841 and 255,661 in 1851: a change of -18% in ten years, through death and emigration.

Sources for this page

A clean copy for school projects or the family file; collapsed sections print in full.

The chronology of who held the county is this site's own reading of the standard histories onto today's county borders, and says so where the fit is rough. Quoted passages are marked and licensed. Spotted an error? Say so — corrections are credited.

Trace your ancestors in Tyrone

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.