Dungannon

Dungannon was a principal seat of the O'Neills of Tyrone, whose castle stood on a hill above the town. From this stronghold the family exercised authority over a powerful Gaelic lordship in Ulster. Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, burned the castle as Crown forces advanced during the Nine Years' War; after the war the town and lands passed to Sir Arthur Chichester in the plantation of Ulster.

In February 1782 a different assembly met in Dungannon's parish church. Delegates of the Irish Volunteers declared that the king, lords and commons of Ireland alone had the right to legislate for Ireland. Their meeting became a landmark in the campaign for greater independence for the Irish parliament, adding a new chapter to a town already closely associated with the politics of Ulster.