- Omagh
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Formerly in County Tyrone, the district was established in 1973. The area was ruled by the ancient O'Neill family (5th–16th centuries), passing to English rule after the flight of Hugh O'Neill in 1607. It was the site of sectarian violence in 1998, when a car bomb killed 29 people. Most of the land is grazed by dairy cattle or sheep, and the rivers contain salmon and trout. Omagh town, the district seat, is a market and light-manufacturing centre.
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town and seat of Omagh district, western Northern Ireland. Situated on the River Strule, Omagh is a market, shopping, and light-manufacturing centre for the district. Traditional crafts (such as table linens and crochet lace) continue to be produced in the town. Tourism is important, and Omagh's numerous festivals and events attract many visitors; the town's West Tyrone Feis annually presents traditional Irish music and arts. The Ulster-American Folk Park north of Omagh is an outdoor display site depicting tools, buildings, and conveyances used by Ulster's 18th- and 19th-century Roman Catholic and Protestant emigrants to the United States.The town came to international attention on Aug. 15, 1998, when a car bomb exploded in a shopping district, killing 29 people and leaving more than 200 injured. The Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA), an IRA (Irish Republican Army) splinter group, claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was the deadliest attack in Northern Ireland since the eruption of violence there in the late 1960s. Pop. (2001) 19,910; (2006 est.) 21,708.district (established 1973), formerly in County Tyrone, western Northern Ireland. It is made up of rolling lowlands and hills and is bordered by the districts of Strabane to the north, Magherafelt and Cookstown to the east, Dungannon to the south, and Fermanagh to the west. Northern and eastern Omagh district includes relatively unproductive moorlands and the 1,778-foot- (542-metre-) high Mullaghcarn mountain. Central and southern Omagh is composed of fertile river valleys. The area was ruled by the ancient O'Neill family from the 5th through the 16th century, passing to English rule after the flight of Hugh O'Neill, 2nd earl of Tyrone, in 1607.Some barley is grown in the district, but most land is grazed by dairy cattle or sheep. Omagh's rivers are popular with salmon and trout anglers, and grouse shooting is enjoyed in the uplands; pearls were formerly obtained from freshwater mussels. Omagh town is the district seat. Area 434 square miles (1,125 square km). Pop. (2004 est.) 50,082.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
