Dungannon, NIR - Postcode - BT70 3AA

Description of Dungannon

Dungannon, Northern Ireland, is located in County Tyrone. Its name comes from the Irish phrase for "Geanann's fort" (Dn Geanainn). At 14,340 people, the 2011 Census placed it as the county's second-largest town, behind only Omagh.  After serving as the seat of the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council, the town fell under the jurisdiction of the Mid-Ulster District Council in 2015.

The O'Neill dynasty of Tr Eoghain, who ruled over much of Ulster and constructed a castle there, considered it their "capital" for centuries. Dungannon grew from its plantation town roots when the O'Neills were defeated by the English in the Nine Years' War. Five times, Dungannon has been named Ulster in Bloom's Best Kept Town. At the present time, its immigrant population is larger than that of any other Northern Irish town.

Dungannon's fortunes were intertwined with the O'Neill dynasty, who dominated much of Ulster until the 17th century, for centuries. The clan's primary fortress was located in Dungannon. Tullyhogue Fort, an Iron Age mound about four miles northeast of Dungannon, was the reputed site of 'The O'Neill's' inauguration. The O'Hagan family had been the O'Neills' trusted caretakers of this land. The O'Neills erected a fortress on the site now known as Castle Hill in the 14th century because it was one of the highest points in the region and provided a commanding vantage point over the surrounding countryside from which, on a clear day, they could see as many as seven different counties.

In 1602, as Crown forces under Lord Mountjoy drew in on the Gaelic lords during the end of the Nine Years' War, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, set fire to this stronghold. Known as the Flight of the Earls, this incident occurred in 1607 when 99 Irish chieftains and their adherents, including Hugh O'Neill, left sail from Rathmullan for the continent. Dungannon and its castle were given to Sir Arthur Chichester, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, during the process that became known as the Plantation of Ulster and involved the confiscation of land and its redistribution to Protestant English and Scottish settlers. 

During the early phases of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Sir Phelim O'Neill took control of the town and issued the Proclamation of Dungannon, in which the rebels outlined their goals and pledged allegiance to Charles I. O'Neill said they were obeying the King's orders when they rose up, and he even produced a fake commission to back up his story.  Dungannon changed hands numerous times during the Irish Confederate Wars. In September 1642, Scots Covenanter forces led by Alexander Leslie conquered the city, but O'Neill retook it in the spring of 1643. 

Time Team, an archaeological program broadcast on Channel 4, excavated the castle in October 2007 and uncovered a portion of the moat and walls. The new Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council district was established in the town in 1973, and the council seat moved there. The Protestant Ascendancy, who dominated the Irish Parliament at the time, declared the country's independence there in 1782.

Geography of Dungannon

It is located in the medieval barony of Dungannon Middle and the civil parish of Drumglass in the southeast corner of County Tyrone.

Castle Hill is the local name for the hill that the town grew up around. Three small lakes lie to the south of the city, the largest of which is called Black Lough. Dungannon Park and Windmill Park can be found in the city's eastern quadrant. Moygashel, a small town in Dungannon's southeastern outskirts; Coalisland, northeast; Donaghmore, northwest; Eglish, south; and Castlecaulfield, southwest (to the west)