forts historical tyrone

Probably an Iron Age sanctuary originally, this was later to become the inauguration place of the O'Neill chieftains of Tyrone. Here at the clan seat of O'Hagan, hereditary stewards to the O'Neills, the ceremony was conducted in the presence of the assembled under-chiefs, with the recipient installed in an ancient stone chair said to have been blessed by St. Patrick. The Great Hugh O'Neill was himself thus enthroned at Tullaghoge in 1593. That the inauguration chair, a rough construction of s...

Clogher controlled the only major route between eastern and western Ulster, and its pivotal position in the Clogher valley led some 2,000 years ago to the creation there of a hill-fort on a small hillock close to the modern Bishop's Palace. Excavations proved its significance when imports of pottery and metal work from southern England of c.100 B.C. -A.D. 100 were discovered on the site, demonstrating its extensive trade contacts. In the early years of Christianity in Ireland, Clogher had beco...

Equivalent to the crowning of a monarch, the inauguration gave the individual the right to bear the title 'the O'Neill', the head of the family that had ruled for centuries over Tyrone - an area larger than that covered by the modern county of the same name. The inauguration ceremony was conducted by the throwing of a shoe over the head of the new O'Neill, to indicate that he would follow in the footsteps of his distinguished ancestors who had borne the title. In the last years of her life, Qu...

A magnificent hill top enclosure commanding panoramic views of the old Kingdom of Tyrone and visible for miles around. The site was historically important in the 11th century when it was a dynastic centre and inauguration place of the Cenel nEogain (later the O'Neills). Guided tours by arrangement....