TYRONE, an inland county of the province of Ulster, in Ireland, is 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 forty-six miles in its greatest length from north to south, and sixty-three in its greatest breadth from east to west, and containing an area of 1269 square miles, or 806,296 acres, of which 714,500 are land, and of these, 544,000 acres are cultivated, and 170,000 bog or uncultivated mountain-land; and 31,796 are covered with water, part of which is a section of Lough Neagh. lt is the ninth county as to its total extent of surface, and the eighth as to its quantity of cultivated land.
[7:21:439]

According to some authorities, the Brdini, and to others, the Scoti were the earliest known inhabitants of this district. It was afterwards distinguished by the name of Kineal-Evgain, 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 Kenihιm or Tiroen. The chief scat of the family was at Dungannon, which, though several times taken and sacked by the English forces 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 there, chiefly by the townsmen of Enniskillen. It was also here that the voluntecr convention of Dungannon assembled in 1782, and passed a series βf 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 Sperin, forming the boundary between the county and that of Londonderry. Its greatest elevations are Mullaghearne, 1590 feet; Straw Mountain, 2085; Muinard, 2064; and Sawell, 2236. South of these is the lower ridge of Slievekirk, Slievemore, and Munterlony, whose highest point is 1432 feet. Mullaghearne, north 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 mountains, 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 arc, the Mourne, Munterlony, Owenreagh, Owen-kelloe, 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 with conglomerate, 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 and sandstone conglomerate. In the south and south-east the carboniferous or mountain limestone appears; and near the borders of Lough Neagh are lyas, 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 has 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 bills, 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, sandstone, or blue clunch. 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 potters 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. There are many small bogs dispersed through the county.

The soil in the parts adjacent to Lough Neagh is alluvial, of considerable depth, and based upon limestone. The lowlands 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 present 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 250,74 6

1821 Ditto 261,865

1831 Ditto 302,943

the proportion of population to the entire surface of the county is, according to the latest of these statements, as 1 to 2Ί2, and to the entire of the cultivated land as 1 to 1∙63. There is therefore one individual to somewhat more than every two acres of land in general, and to every 1 4 / 5 ths of an acre of productive land. According to the returns of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, which, being taken by dioceses instead of counties, afford but an approximation to strict accuracy, 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, arc therefore 0∙222, 0∙223, and 0∙555 nearly; whence it appears that the Roman Catholic population is more than equal to that of the Protestant, which also is almost equally divided between the established church and the Dissenters. The number of children receiving instruction in public schools, according to the population returns of 1821, [7:21:440]and the Reports of the Commissioners of National Education in 1824-6 and in 1837, was as follows:

Year. Male.. Females. Sex not ascertained. Total.

1821 8,484 4,078 — 12,562

1824-6 10,783 7,598 447 18,828

1837 4.383 2,581 — 6,964

Of the numbers stated in the return of 1824-6, there were, of the established church, 4824; Protestant Dissenters, 6404; Roman Catholics, 7480; besides 120 whose religious persuasion was not ascertained. And according to the same return, the number of schools was 435, of which eighty-nine, with 4861 pupils, were supported by grants of public money; eighty, with 5250 pupils, by private subscriptions; and the remaining 226, with 8717 pupils, wholly by the pupils’ fees.

After the flight and attainder of the earl of Tyrone in 1607, the county was parcelled out by King James among English and Scotish 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 the four baronies of Clogher, Dungannon, Omagh, and Strabane, 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. 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 has been reduced to three, two for the county and one for the borough of Dungannon. The numbers of electors at different periods were as follows;

Year. L.50. L 20. L.10. Total.

1831 265 316 701 1282

1832 166 240 745 1151

Total. Total. Total.

1833 1151 1836 1250 1838 1250

1834 1320 1837 1250 1839 3430

1835 2057

The local government is vested in a lord lieutenant, twenty-two deputy lieutenants, and eighty-two other magistrates, besides a stipendiary appointed and paid by the crown, under whom there is a constabulary force of one county inspector, five sub-inspectors, six head constables, and 150 constables and sub-constables. 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 eighteen stations for holding petty sessions. The number of committals for 1839 was 558, disposed of as follows: Discharged in consequence of want of prosecution, sixty; no bill being found, 100; acquitted by jury, 151; bailed and not tried, twenty; total, 331; convicted, 227, of whom there were discharged on securities, twenty-nine; fined, thirty; imprisoned for six months or under, 127; for one year, ten; for two years, three; transported for periods under seven years, ten; for seven years, fourteen; for fourteen years, four; for life, none; sentenced to death, none; to which general total are to be added seventy-three cases of summary convictions at petty sessions, and 190 for drunk enness. The public establishments for medical purposes are in different places. The county infirmary is at Omagh, the fever hospital at Strabane, and the accommodation for lunatics in the district-asylum at Londonderry. There are twenty dispensaries distributed through the county. Workhouses for unions under the new poor-law are in course of erection at Castlederg, 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 spade, as an instrument of general husbandry, is less used every year, and the plough is substituted for it. Farms are generally small, not often extending beyond fifty acres. The land is much subdivided, except in the mountain districts, where farms are often held by a number of tenants, each of whom tills a quantity of the land proportionate to the amount of his rent, and enjoys the benefit of the remainder as pasture-land for his cattle, in common with the rest of the holders. 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 whins. Land is now seldom allowed to lie fallow, as formerly, but is kept in a productive state by a judicious rotation of crops. Though it is not a pasturage country, and possesses but few extensive dairies, much butter is made, chiefly for the Scotish markct. Cheese is also made in small quantities. 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, where they are slaughtered, and sold under the name of horse-beef, because carried to the markets on horseback. The horses are hardy and excellent for field purposes, but are ill shaped. The breed of sheep is little attended to, whether for wool or carcase; nor are swine reared in the numbers usual in most other parts of Ireland, the vicinity of Strabane being the only part in which they form an important part of the farming stock.

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: it is reviving to such a degree that it may now be considered to be 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. The favourite colour for broad cloths is a light blue. In spinning the wool, the oleaginous juice of the fern-root pounded is used instead of butter. 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 northern mail-road to Londonderry, through Strabane, traverses the county. 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 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 [7:21:441] by a railroad. The line of railroad proposed by the commissioners of railways to proceed from Armagh to Coleraine is intended to pass through Tyrone, near the western coast of Lough Neagh, by Coal Island and Coagh. There are nine banking establishments; three of which are branches of the Belfast, three of the Provincial, and three of the Agricultural and Commercial Banks. There are also eight registered loan-societies.

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 landed gentry. The Imuses of the more substantial farmers are of stone, 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. Irish is scarcely spoken except in the retired mountain-districts.

A singular mode of medical treatment is practised in some parts. A kind of rude cell is scooped out of the side of a hill or bank, and closed in the front with wicker-work or clay, leaving only a small opening for the entrance. the interior being heated with charred turf, the patient is laid down in it, and the door being closed up so as to prevent the admission of air, he is suffered to remain thereuntil the action of the heat is supposed to have produced the desired effect. This system is used in all complaints, but chiefly in rheumatic affections, which are very prevalent. The poorer classes are much addicted to superstitious practices: they stand in great age of fairies, or, as they call them, “the wee people and still adhere to the custom of driving their cattle round fires lighted at midsummer. An antique bell, found among the ruins of a church, and known by the name of the Clogh of Termon, is used as a test to swear upon; and the donach, a box or casket containing some relics, is employed for the same purpose.

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 Druidical are to be seen. 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 6000 inhabitants, and there are but nine containing a population which exceeds 1060. The county town is Omagh, nearly in its centre, on the Drumragh water or Stroule, a branch of the Foyle. This town was twice destroyed by fire; the first time in 1689, by the garrison placed in it by King James, in order to render it useless to the enemy when they evacuated it; afterwards in 1743, by an accidental fire, which left but two houses standing. Like most other places that have suffered by such a cala mity, it rose much improved from its ashes, and is now remarkable for its general neatness, and the elegance of some of its buildings, particularly the court-house. The other public buildings are, the parish-church, with a lofty tower and spire, the Roman Catholic chapel, four dissenting chapels, the county -prison and infirmary, and a barrack. Omagh has some trade, and is one of the markets for brown linens.. The population is 2211. Strabane, on the Moume, near its confluence with the Finn, is the largest and most improving town in the county. Its situation is very picturesque; the natural beauties of its site being heightened by the numerous orchards and fruit-gardens in which it is embosomed. Its public buildings arc, the parochial church, a Roman Catholic chapel, and four dissenting places of worship. It is a chartered borough, but the corporation is little regarded since it lost by the union its right of representation. Its only corporate property are the town tolls and customs. It carries on a brisk trade in grain and provisions, which is greatly promoted by a canal, three miles long, to Leck, on the Foyle, and navigable for barges of forty tons. The linen manufacture, after having been carried on here to a large extent, gave way to that of cotton, which has also declined. The present thriving state of the place is owing to its general trade, and its position as a mart for receiving the agricultural produce of the interior and transmitting it to Londonderry: it also enjoys the advantage of a profitable fishery. The population is 5457. Dungannon, three miles west of the south-west extremity of Lough Neagh, was the principal residence of O’Neill, the head of the family, who here erected a large castle, which he afterwards burned, together with the town, when driven from it by Lord Mountjoy. The castle was rebuilt after the restoration, and the town much improved. Its public buildings are, the parish church, a Roman Catholic chapel, several dissenting places of worship, and one of the royal schools endowed by James I. The linen manufacture is still carried on with great spirit; and there are several bleach-greens in the neighbourhood. It has also manufactories of earthenware, fire-bricks, iron, and flour. It returns a member to the imperial parliament, for which purpose a new and more limited boundary has been laid down, comprehending but 224 acres out of 830, which is its extent for other municipal purposes. The population is 3515. 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 2883. The other towns whose population exceeds 1000 souls each are, Auch-nacloy, 1742; Newtown-Stewart, 1737; Fintona, 1714; Caledon, 1079; and Stewartstown, 1010. Clogber, where stood the cathedral of the diocese of the same name, a 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, with a population of 523 inhabitants, who chiefly derive their subsistence from the expenditure of the family and dependents of the bishop, whose palace and demesne arc in its vicinity. (c. p. )