The County Town Of Omagh, Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Article by Simon Haughtone
























The county town of Omagh, Tyrone, Northern Ireland has a current population of around 22,000 people. It is also County Tyrone’s main town (designated by its county town status), and it lies at the site where the Rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the River Strule. It is also the site of the headquarters of the Omagh District Council. It became Tyrone’s principal town – taking the title from Dungannon – around 1768 or thereabouts.

Omagh itself can trace its history back to the activities of a religious community centered on an abbey which had been formed in the year 792. This fact makes it one of the oldest towns in all of Ireland. It has its official beginnings in 1610, which came about 150 years after the founding of yet another religious community, this time a haven for friars (called a friary) in the town.

In 1641, Omagh served as a kind of sanctuary or place of refuge for people fleeing the eastern areas of Tyrone, which were under an atmosphere of unrest and rebellion. The town was burned down in 1689 by supporters of William III, Prince of Orange. The town grew back, though, and eventually achieved its county town designation. As part of the British Empire, it hosted a large military barracks from 1881 until 2007.

Visitors of note to Omagh have included Queen Elizabeth II, the current ruling British monarch, and her son, Prince Charles. Former American president Bill Clinton has also visited the town in the past, during his presidency. The town also came to international attention in 1998, when activities by the separatist Irish Republican Army led to the deaths of a number of townspeople.

County Tyrone is the second largest of such geographic classifications in the province of Ulster, Northern Ireland. It has a current population of around 167,000 people. Both Omagh and County Tyrone are classic examples of Irish – and English – life in Northern Ireland, England and the United Kingdom.

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