TYRONE, a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster, is bounded by Londonderry on the N. by Armagh on the E. by Monaghan and Fermanagh on the S. and by Donegal on the NV. It is about 42 miles long from N. to S. about 54-1 from E. to W. and contains 1271 square miles, or 8!3,440 English acres. Its political divisions are the baronies of Dungannon, Strabane, Omagh and Clogher, and it contains 35 parishes in the sees of Derry, Armagh, and Clogher.
The northern part of the country is rough and mountainous. The Cairntogher and Munterlony hills occupy an extensive tract, and to the south in the barony of Strabane are two lofty hills called Bessy Bell and Mary Gray.
The rivers in Tyrone are numerous. The Mourne, which is the principal one, passes through the centre of the country from north to south. It rises in the mountains near Clogher; at Omagh it is joined by the Cameron from the south, and a little farther on by the Po from the west. Af ter receiving at Newton Stewart the Moyle, &e. and at Ardstraw the Derg, it runs to Strabane, below which it meets the Fin, with which it pro ceeds under the name of the Foyle to the sea. It is navigable for large boats. The Blackwater is also navigable for ten miles. The Ballinderry passes by Cookstoun and flows into Lough Neagh.
Agriculture is in a very low state in this county, owing to the unprofitable manner in which the farms are occupied. The land is held in what is called Rundalc, the arable land being divided into a certain number of shares, which are changed an nually, the cattle of the different tenants pasturing in common. The arable land is wrought more with the spade than the plough, and when a plough is used, it is drawn by horses, bullocks, and even milk cows, contributed by three or four neighbours, each of whom attend the operation for the behoof of his cattle. The chief crops are potatoes, oats, and flax. The cattle and sheep are of a very inferior descrip tion. The best land is in the barony of Dungannon, and there is also a considerable portion of good land in Clogher.
There is little or no limestone in the county. Clay fit for bricks and pottery is abundant, and the barony of Dungannon is said to produce the best pottery in Ireland, consisting of crockery ware, fire-bricks, and tiles. At Coal Island, situated in the eastern part of the county, five coal pits were working in 1800, but Mr. Wakefield describes the coal as bituminous and of a had quality. Mr. Grif fith has also expressed an unfavourable opinion of the extent and value of the coals of Tyrone.
The principal proprietors of Tyrone are the mar quess of Abercorn, lords Belmore, Northland, and Mountjoy. Many of the estates are worth from 45000 to L7000 per annum. The village farms do not exceed twenty acres each, and the leases are for thirty-one years and three lives—three lives— and twenty-one years and a life.
The chief towns are Omagh the county town, Newton Stewart, Augher, Clogher, Strabane, and the burgh of Dungannon. Strabane is a thriving town, situated on the Mourne, and has a good mar ket for many articles, particularly linen cloth. The canal which connects it with the Foyle is a princi pal source of its prosperity. It was represented in parliament before the union. Dungannon has a good linen market, and from the collieries at Drum glass, in its vicinity, there is a canal to the Black water. It has a barrack for a troop of horse. New ton Stewart is a neat small town, agreeably situ ated on the river Foyle. Augher and Clogher, though parliamentary burghs before the union, are very small places. The linen manufacture is car ried on to a great extent in the county.
The county sends two members to parliament, and the borough of Dungannon a third.
In 1771 the population was 157,700. In 1821 it was 259,691. The catholics arc to the protestants as six to one, but the property chiefly belongs to the latter. See M'Evoy's Statistical Survey of Ty rone and Ireland, and Wakefield's Statistical .dc count of Ireland, passim.