OMAGH

district (established 1973), formerly in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It covers 434 square miles (1,125 square km) 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. Pop. (1987 est.) 45,800. Irish An maigh town and seat of Omagh district, 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, and Omagh's West Tyrone Feis annually presents traditional Irish music and arts. The UlsterAmerican 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. Pop. (1981) 14,627.