Omagh

Omagh (G. M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford University Press, 1971), pg. 110 or ;  –  )Placenames Database of Ireland is the county town of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and the Western Education and Library Board. The town is twinned with East Kilbride (Scotland) and L'Haÿ-les-Roses (France).

History
In 1768, Omagh replaced Dungannon as the county town of County Tyrone. Omagh acquired railway links to Derry in 1852, Enniskillen in 1853 and Belfast in 1861. The St Lucia Barracks were built in 1881 and closed in 2007. The Ulster Transport Authority closed the Omagh-Enniskillen railway line in 1957 and the Portadown-Derry main line in 1965, leaving the town with no rail service. In 1998, 29 people were killed in a Real Irish Republican Army bombing.

References

Category:County towns in Northern Ireland
Category:County Tyrone