an inland county of the province of Ulster, in Ireland, bounded on the north by the counties of Donegal and Londonderry, on the east by Lough Neagh and the county of Armagh, on the south by the counties of Monaghan and Fermanagh, and on the west by those of Fermanagh and Donegal. It lies between 54. 20. and 54. 59. north latitude, and 6. 15. and 7. 57. west longitude; measuring 46 miles in its greatest length from north to south, and 60 in its greatest breadth from east to west, and containing an area of 1269 square miles, or 806,296 acres, of which 450,286 are arable, 311,867 uncultivated, 11,981 in plantations, 710 towns, and 31,796 are under water, part of which is a section of Lough Neagh. The unimproved pasture-land is chiefly situated in an elevated mountain district, the substrata consisting, for the most part, of mica slate or red sandstone. Of the 312,000 acres of unimproved land, it is probable that 80,000 acres might be improved for cultivation, 120,000 acres by draining alone, and the remaining 112,000 acres may be considered as unimproveable.
According to some authorities the Erdini, and to others the Scoti, were the earliest known inhabitants of this district. It was afterwards distinguished by the name of Kinéal-Ergain, or Tyr-Owen, and was the territory of the O'Neills, descendants of Neal of the Nine Hostages, king of Ireland, and virtually sovereigns of the greatest part of the north of Ireland for several centuries after the English settlement under Henry II. In a writ of Henry III., the head of the sept is styled King of Kenilworth or Tiroen. The chief seat of the family was at Dungannon, which, though several times taken and sacked by the English force in their attempts to reduce the country to obedience to the royal authority, continued to be so until the close of the reign of Elizabeth, when it was burned by Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, to prevent its falling into the hands of Lord Mountjoy, who then commanded the queen's forces in Ireland. The insurrection of 1641 may be said to have had its commencement in this county, by the capture of Charlemont Fort and Dungannon by Sir Phelim O'Neill; and in 1646 the Parliamentary forces under General Munroe received a signal defeat from Hugh Roe O'Neill at Benburb. During the greater part of the war between King William and King James, this county was in the possession of the forces of the latter, and suffered much from the partisan warfare carried on, chiefly by the townsmen of Enniskillen. It was also here that the volunteer convention of Dungannon assembled in 1782, and passed a series of resolutions expressive of their opinion of the right of the Irish parliament to make laws independently of that of Great Britain.
The surface is much varied, mostly hilly, with but little level ground. In the north it rises into the mountain-range of Sperrin, forming the boundary between the county and that of Londonderry. Its greatest elevations are Mullaghcarne, 1890 feet; Straw Mountain, 2085; Muinard, 2064; and Sawell, the centre and highest point of the range, 2236. South of these is the lower ridge of Slievekick, Slievemore, and Munterlony, whose highest point is 1432 feet. Mullaghcarne, six miles north-east of Omagh, is 1778 feet high; Slieve-Gallion, in the north-east, 1730; Croagh, west, 1260; the mountains south of Clogher, which form its boundary towards Monaghan, 1265 feet. Two lofty hills detached from the main group, and situate on each side of the Mourne river, are distinguished by the popular names of Bessy Bell and Mary Gray. The former name has been supposed to owe its origin to the pagan rites celebrated on its summit to the god Bel or Beal; for the latter no conjecture has been hazarded. The eastern districts are chiefly flat, declining towards Lough Neagh. The valleys, several of which are very romantic, serve as the channels to the minor streams, whose confluence forms the river Foyle. The principal are, the Mourne, Munterlony, Owentragh, Owenkellee, Derg from Lough Derg in Donegal, and the Dennet. The Foyle forms a small portion of the western boundary, the Blackwater a considerable part of the southern, and the Ballinderry of the north-eastern. There are but few lakes, and those very small. Lough Fae, at the foot of Slieve-Gallion, and Lough Creevy, are the largest.
The substratum of the northern mountainous district is mica slate, interspersed with primary limestone in small detached portions. To the north-west is yellow sandstone, which shows itself also in the central part near Omagh, and again in the south-west, where it plunges into Fermanagh. A bed of granite, enclosed in crystalline greenstone trap, extends from Slieve-Gallion nearly to Omagh. The formation across the county from Lough Erne to Lough Neagh is the old red sandstone. In the south and south-east the carboniferous or mountain limestone appears; and near the borders of Lough Neagh are lias, green sand, and chalk, with new red sandstone. In the sandstone formation in this part, fossil fish have been found, with the characteristic features of their various species strongly marked. Near Cookstown, a great number of organic remains have been discovered. Coal is raised in large quantities in the eastern part, between Dungannon and Lough Neagh, in a district formed of a collection of low hills, not more than a hundred feet in perpendicular elevation, with steep sides and flattened summits. There are two principal fields; Coal Island, measuring about eight miles by three, and comprehending an area of 1200 acres; and Annahone, about a mile each way, and containing 500 acres. The coal—which is of the bituminous or blazing kind, like that of the west of Scotland, burning rapidly, and with a bright abundant flame—rests upon beds of fire-clay and sandstone. The shale has impressions of vegetable substances, among which are reeds of very large dimensions. The quantity of coal raised is abundant in proportion to the extent of the field; but it is difficult to be worked, from the greatness of the angle formed by the layers of coal in many places, which increases the difficulty of drainage, and also from the soft nature of the bottom or flooring, which requires many precautions to prevent the passages from closing. Indications of coal have been perceived at Drunquin, to the north-west of Omagh, but no practical advantage has yet been taken of the discovery. Iron ore and potter's clay are found in the coal districts. A range of escars extends across the southern part of the county, from near Dungannon to Five-mile-town; and the ridges are in some places as regularly arranged as if formed by the hand of man.
The soil in the parts adjacent to Lough Neagh is alluvial, of considerable depth, and based upon limestone. The low lands along the Blackwater are extremely fertile, well timbered, and afford many prospects of great beauty. The valley of the Foyle, which belongs to this county, is also very fertile. The mountainous tracts to the north have a shallow soil, resting either on a tenacious clay, or on bog, which impedes the passage of the water, and renders the land moist, cold, and unproductive. Much of the central parts presents tracts of unprofitable bog and heath. The southern districts are well wooded.
The progress of population during the last hundred years is as follows, according to the authorities stated:
| Year | Authority | Number | |------|-----------|--------| | 1760 | De Burgo | 76,278 | | 1792 | Beaufort | 159,000 | | 1812 | Parliamentary census | 250,746 | | 1821 | Ditto | 291,865 | | 1831 | Ditto | 304,468 | | 1841 | Ditto | 312,956 | | 1851 | Ditto | 255,734 |
The density of the population in 1841 was therefore 243 persons to the square mile, and in 1851 203, showing a decrease of 45 inhabitants on the square mile. In 1851, only 400 persons were returned as speaking Irish only, but 14,000 are represented as able to speak Irish and English.
According to the returns of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, the total population was 312,500; of which 69,320 were members of the Established Church, 69,620 Protestant Dissenters, and the remaining 173,560 Roman Catholics. The proportions of the different persuasions, the total population being taken as unity, were, therefore, 0·222, 0·223, and 0·555 nearly; whence it appears that the Roman Catholic population was more than equal to that of the Protestant, which also was almost equally divided between the Established Church and the Dissenters. The number of children receiving instruction in public schools in 1821, in 1824–26, and in 1837, was as follows:
| Year | Males | Females | Sex not ascertained | Total | |------|-------|---------|---------------------|-------| | 1821 | 8,484 | 4,078 | ... | 12,562| | 1824–26| 10,783| 7,598 | 447 | 18,828| | 1837 | 4,383 | 2,581 | | 6,964 |
Of the numbers stated in the return of 1824–26, there were, of the Established Church, 4824; Protestant Dissenters, 6404; Roman Catholics, 7480; besides 120 whose religious persuasion was not ascertained.
The number of schools of each description, and of pupils attending them in 1851, was found by the Census Commissioners to have been:
| Description of Schools | Number of Schools | Number of Children | |------------------------|------------------|-------------------| | National | 243 | 5,179 | | Church Education | 22 | 1,616 | | Endowed | 5 | 117 | | Boarding | 5 | 102 | | Private | 68 | 972 | | Parochial | 14 | 340 | | Free | 20 | 267 | | Mission | 8 | 124 | | Charitable Boarding | 1 | 10 | | Workhouse | 9 | 526 | | Gaol | 1 | 132 | | **Total** | **466** | **9,385** | After the flight and attainder of the Earl of Tyrone in 1607, the county was parcelled out by King James among English and Scottish settlers, or, as they were then styled, "planters," among whom the native Irish were distributed as tenants, except the swordsmen, who were dispersed throughout the waste districts of Munster and Connaught. Before that period, it was divided into two districts, called North and South Tyrone; but the northern part was about that time transferred to Londonderry, and the remainder divided into the five precincts of Clogher, Dungannon, Mountjoy, Omy, and Strabane. It now consists of eight baronies, which are subdivided into thirty-five parishes, of which twenty are in the diocese of Armagh, eleven in that of Derry, and four in Clogher; the cathedral and bishop's seat of the last named being in the county.
The acreable contents and annual valuation of the baronies are as follows:
| Baronies | Acreable contents | Annual valuation | |-------------------|-------------------|-----------------| | Clogher | 97,569 | 35,876 | | Dungannon, Lower | 42,555 | 25,288 | | Dungannon, Middle | 90,339 | 56,031 | | Dungannon, Upper | 110,168 | 35,462 | | Omagh, East | 131,710 | 49,175 | | Omagh, West | 93,308 | 16,754 | | Strabane, Lower | 118,380 | 41,079 | | Strabane Upper | 122,110 | 18,401 |
Total: 806,639 acres valued at £277,555
Tyrone was represented in the Irish parliament by ten members, two for the county, and two for each of the boroughs of Augher, Clogher, Dungannon, and Strabane. By the Act of Union, the number was reduced to three, two for the county and one for the borough of Dungannon.
The assizes are held at Omagh, where also are the county court-house and prison. There are bridewells at Clogher, Dungannon, and Strabane. General sessions of the peace are held at Strabane, Omagh, Dungannon and Clogher; and there are twenty stations for holding petty sessions. The county infirmary is at Omagh, and the accommodation for lunatics in the district asylum at Londonderry. Workhouses for unions under the new poor-law are at Castlelderg, Clogher, Cookstown, Dungannon, Gortin, Omagh, and Strabane.
The modes of agriculture differ according to the character of the soil. In the alluvial lands in the east, tillage is pursued universally, and according to the most approved systems, both as to the treatment of the land and the construction of the implements. It is also extending into the mountainous district, wherever the nature of the soil or the declivity of the land admits of it. The land is still much subdivided, but the number of farms is decreasing annually. In the more highly cultivated parts the fences are of white thorn; in the hilly country either of stone carelessly piled together, or, where stone is scarce, of sods topped with furze, here called whims. Land is now seldom allowed to lie fallow as formerly, but is kept in a productive state by a judicious rotation of crops. The extent of land under each description of crop in 1849 and 1859 was:
| Crop | 1849 | 1859 | |--------------------|------|------| | Wheat | 10,541 | 5,286 | | Oats | 153,172 | 146,440 | | Barley, bere, rye, beans, and peas | 7,958 | 1,226 | | Potatoes | 34,061 | 57,371 | | Turnips | 16,003 | 12,581 | | Other green crops | 3,466 | 3,442 | | Flax | 9,527 | 23,022 | | Meadow and clover | 23,594 | 36,161 |
Total: 282,962 acres valued at £285,529
Though it is not a pasturage country, and possesses but few extensive dairies, much butter is made, chiefly for the Scottish market. Cheese is also made in small quantities. Tyreone. The native cows are small, but good milkers. Great numbers of young cattle are fed on the mountains, and after a short time driven down to the lowlands for sale. The horses are hardy and excellent for field purposes, but ill shaped. The breed of sheep is little attended to, whether for wool or carcass; swine, which were not formerly reared in the numbers usual in most other parts of Ireland, now form an important part of the farming stock. The quantity of live stock in the county in 1849 and 1859 was:
| Year | Horses | Cattle | Sheep | Swine | |------|--------|--------|-------|-------| | 1849 | 30,084 | 157,751 | 32,206 | 26,099 | | 1859 | 26,774 | 173,808 | 36,290 | 41,276 |
The linen manufacture was long the staple trade; and though it lately declined here, as in other parts, for some years, yet it was never wholly relinquished, and has again risen to such a degree that it may now be considered as in a flourishing and improving state. Bleach-greens were very numerous, but most of them have been applied to other uses, the linens wrought in the country being sold in a green state in all the principal towns. Wool is manufactured for domestic use into coarse cloths, blankets, and druggets; which last are still worn by the women, though their use is much diminished by the demand for cheap cottons. Agricultural implements of every kind are manufactured at Coal Island; as are fire-bricks, considered to be equal to those of Stourbridge clay, and also crucibles. There are potteries in several places. Flour, tobacco, soap, and candles are manufactured to a considerable extent. There are several tanneries, distilleries, and breweries. The Ulster Canal passes along the southern border from Lough Neagh to Caledon, near which it enters Monaghan in its progress towards Lough Erne. The Tyrone navigation proceeds also from Lough Neagh, in the bed of the Blackwater river, for a short distance, and thence to Coal Island near Dungannon by a canal 11 miles in length. Its revenue, which is small, arises chiefly from the conveyance of coal from the collieries to the lake. The Foyle is navigable for small craft to St Johnstown, a village on the confines of the county, but on the Donegal bank of the river, and thence by an artificial cut to Strabane. The Blackwater is navigable for boats to Moy, and communicates with the collieries by a short canal. There is also a communication between the river and the collieries.
As every settler placed here by James I. was bound by the conditions of his grant, if he held upwards of 1000 acres, to erect a castle with a bawn or fortified enclosure, numerous large buildings were raised, of a mixed character between the feudal fortress and the modern mansion, several of which are still the residences of the representatives or successors of the original grantees. Besides these, there are many elegant modern mansions and villas of the nobility and landed gentry, foremost among which are Baron's Court, the seat of the Marquis of Abercorn, and Roxboro' Castle, the fine residence of the Earl of Charlemont. The houses of the more substantial farmers are of stone, and generally well built and slated; the habitations of the peasantry very poor, owing partly to the want of timber, partly to the poverty of the inmates. Turf is the general fuel, except in the immediate vicinity of the collieries. The food of the poorer classes is potatoes and oatmeal, with milk and salt fish occasionally; flesh-meat is used only on festal occasions. In their dress, customs, and dispositions, they vary little from those of similar station throughout the province.
There are many remains of raths and Danish forts, several in a state of good preservation; but their number is yearly diminishing, by their being dug up and carried away for farming uses. Several fine monuments, described as Druidi- A very large cromlech rests on a hill near Newtown-Stewart; another is near Coagh. Some remains of a round tower were visible at Errigal-keroge in the beginning of the present century, but no trace of it now exists. Near Dungannon is an ancient relic, consisting of two circles marked by upright stones, and connected together in the shape of the figure 8. Several brazen trumpets of singular construction were discovered about a century ago near the same town. The remains of monastic buildings and of ancient castles are numerous. Among the most remarkable of the latter is that at Benburb, near which was one of the ancient residences of the O'Neills.
The population is chiefly rural. The largest town does not contain 5100 inhabitants, and there are but few containing a population which exceeds 1000. The county town is Omagh, situated nearly in the centre of the county, on the Drumrath water or Strule, a branch of the Foyle, and containing 3885 inhabitants. This town was twice destroyed by fire; first in 1689, by the garrison placed in it by King James when they evacuated it; and afterwards, in 1743, by an accidental fire, which left only two houses standing. Strabane, however, on the Mourne, near its confluence with the Finn, is the largest and most improving town in the county. It carries on a brisk trade in grain and provisions, which is greatly promoted by a canal three miles in length, which connects the town with the deeper parts of the Foyle, which is thence navigable for vessels of considerable burthen. The population is 5079. Dungannon, three miles west of the south-west extremity of Lough Neagh, was the principal residence of the O'Neills. The linen manufacture was until lately carried on with great spirit; and it has also manufactories of earthenware, fire-bricks, &c., with several corn-mills, and a large distillery. It returns one member to the imperial parliament. The population is 3854. Cookstown, on the road from Dungannon to Coleraine, has also a respectable share of the linen manufacture, chiefly for the supply of the English market. Its population is 2993. Clogher, where stands the cathedral of the diocese of the same name, a plain modernized building of small dimensions and few architectural pretensions, though dignified with the title of city from the circumstance of its being the seat of a bishop, is but a village. By the Church Temporalities Act, the see was united to Armagh, and the palace with the demesne have since been farmed.