Tír Eoghain
Gaelic kingdom of ancient and Medieval Ireland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tír Eoghain (meaning Land of Eoghan), also known as Tyrone, was a kingdom and later earldom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising parts of present-day County Tyrone, County Armagh, County Londonderry and County Donegal (Raphoe). The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Cenél nEógain people of the Northern Uí Néill and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area. One part of the realm to the north-east broke away and expanded, becoming Clandeboye, ruled by a scion branch of the O'Neill dynasty. In one form or another, Tyrone existed for over a millennium. Its main capital was Dungannon, though kings were inaugurated at Tullyhogue Fort.
Tír Eoghain | |||||||||||
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5th century–1607 | |||||||||||
Status | Túatha of Ailech (until 1185) | ||||||||||
Capital | Dungannon[1][2] Tullyhogue Fort[3] | ||||||||||
Common languages | Irish | ||||||||||
Religion | Catholic Church | ||||||||||
Government | Elective monarchy | ||||||||||
King / Chief | |||||||||||
• c. 465 | Eógan mac Néill (first) | ||||||||||
• 1593-1607 | Aodh Mór Ó Néill (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Established | 5th century | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1607 | ||||||||||
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Today part of | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Upon its foundation in the 5th century, Tyrone was a sub-kingdom of the larger Aileach, which represented the powerbase of the Uí Néill (descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages) in the north of Ireland. The territory of Eoghan mac Néill was initially based in Inishowen and expanded out from there under his descendants. Periodically, during the time of Aileach, the leaders of Tyrone established themselves as High Kings of Ireland, providing in total of thirteen High Kings from the 6th to the 10th centuries. The first was Muirchertach mac Muiredaig and the last from this period was Domnall ua Néill. Three later Tyrone claimants to the High Kingship were Domnall Ua Lochlainn and Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn in 12th century and finally Brian Chatha an Dúna O'Neill in the 13th century.
In the 13th century, Aileach split up into its two most powerful kindred components: Tyrone (under the O'Neill dynasty) and Tyrconnell (under the O'Donnell dynasty). Between themselves and the Lordship of Ireland, they competed in the north for hegemony over the Ulster region, but their influence frequently went far beyond the regional. In the 14th century, pushing eastwards, Tyrone benefited from the Gaelic reasurgence and was able to establish Clandeboye. Sometimes a sub-kingdom of Tyrone, it soon asserted its own authority and became a prominent player in its own right. With the creation of the Crown of England's Kingdom of Ireland in the 16th century, Tyrone would be brought into the Tudors' sphere of influence, but was a major source of Gaelic Irish resistance, before, while and after being subordinated. From the rebellion of Shane the Proud to the Nine Years' War under Hugh O'Neill and later, Tyrone leaders were involved in the subsequent Irish Rebellion of 1641 and Irish Confederate Wars (particularly Owen Roe O'Neill).