County Dossier
Tyrone
A northern county of clans, battles and bogs.
Tyrone is a largely rural county of central Ulster, defined by rolling farmland, peaceful valleys and the rugged Sperrin Mountains to the north. Sawel Mountain, shared with Derry / Londonderry, is the county's highest point.
At a glance
Tyrone at a glance
A northern county of clans, battles and bogs.
- Tír Eoghain, Eoghan's land
- Records call it "Tyrowen"
- Sperrin uplands and peatlands
- Area: 1,260 sq mi 3,263 km²
- Population: 178,440
- County Top: Sawel Mountain (2,224ft / 678m)
County Geography
Tyrone meets Derry / Londonderry to the north, Donegal to the west and north-west, Fermanagh to the south-west, Monaghan to the south, Armagh to the south-east, and Antrim across the Lough Neagh side to the east. The county is shaped by the Sperrins, the long drainage toward the Foyle and Blackwater systems, and the eastern approach to the lough.
Sperrin upland, central valleys, and the eastward fall toward Lough Neagh give Tyrone a strong and readable county form.
Map Reference
View Tyrone on the map
Tyrone is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Omagh, Dungannon, Strabane, Cookstown, and Clogher show the county from its central basin and eastern side to its western river line and southern approach.
Connections
The county’s routes have long crossed through Omagh and Dungannon, linked the Blackwater and Mourne valleys, and skirted the Sperrin edge toward Strabane and Cookstown. Movement follows the same upland, valley, and lough-edge pattern.
Names
- Tyrone
- County Tyrone
- County of Tyrone
- Chontae Thír Eoghain
Tír Eoghain is the Irish form of Tyrone. County Tyrone is the formal historical style, older records preserve forms such as Tyrowen, and the county name points back to the land of Eoghan and the O’Neill kingdom.
Tyrone was shired in 1585, but the older upland and valley setting of Tír Eoghain still shapes the county. Sperrin, valley, and Lough Neagh-side geography keep the historic county clear.