Province of Ulster

County Tyrone

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 for 3,500 years, and were only uncovered by turf-cutters in the 1940s. More may still lie beneath.

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Through the ages — who held Tyrone

8,000 BC – 4,001 BC Mesolithic hunter-gatherers The First Irish

4,000 BC – 2,501 BC Neolithic farming communities The Tomb Builders

2,500 BC – 501 BC Bronze Age Ireland The Age of Gold & Bronze

500 BC – AD 99 Iron Age Ireland The Iron Age

AD 100 – AD 399 Erdini Ptolemy's Ireland

AD 400 – AD 431 Ulaid The Five Fifths

AD 432 – 1013 Northern Uí Néill (Ailech) Patrick & the Rise of the Uí Néill Saints & Scholars The Viking Storm Norse Cities & the Rise of Brian

1014 – 1333 Tír Eoghain (Mac Lochlainn / O'Neill) Kings with Opposition The Norman Invasion High Tide of the Colony

1334 – 1607 O'Neill of Tír Eoghain The Gaelic Resurgence The Kildare Ascendancy The Tudor Conquest

1608 – 1640 Plantation counties The Plantation of Ulster

1641 – 1652 Confederate Ireland Confederate Ireland & Cromwell

1653 – 1800 Kingdom of Ireland Ascendancy Ireland

1801 – 1915 United Kingdom of Great Britain & Ireland The Act of Union An Gorta Mór — The Great Famine Land & Liberty

1916 – 1921 Irish Republic (declared, contested) The Revolution

1922 – 2026 Northern Ireland (UK) Partition — Free State & Northern Ireland Éire The Republic & the Troubles Peace & the New Ireland

Clans & surnames of Tyrone

Campbell Mac Cathmhaoil (adopted) Scottish (gallowglass & planter) · “cam beul, 'crooked mouth'” 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'” Hughes Mac Aodha / Ó hAodha Gaelic sept · “son (or descendant) of Aodh, 'fire'” 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” 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'” Stewart — Ulster Scots · “steward of the royal household” Wilson — Ulster Scots / English · “son of Will”

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On the ground in Tyrone

Ardboe High Cross · high cross
Beaghmore · stone circle
Knockmany Passage Tomb · tomb
8 castles · Altinaghree Castle, Benburb Castle, Derg Castle, Harry Avery's Castle, Killymoon Castle and more

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

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 Campbell, Conlan, Cooney, Devlin, Donnelly, Hughes, Martin, McGale, among others.

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.