Days Out NI
Castle & ruin Cookstown

Tullaghoge Fort

The free hilltop earthwork where the O'Neill kings of Tyrone were crowned for 600 years.

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Tullaghoge Fort — The free hilltop earthwork where the O'Neill kings of Tyrone were crowned for 600 years.

  • Getting in: Free, open access. No admission charge, no booking, no staff on site.
  • Opening: Open during daylight hours year-round. Access occasionally restricted for conservation works, check before a special trip.
  • Inside: No building to enter. The monument is the earthwork itself, which you walk onto and across.
  • Dogs: Not formally stated. As an open countryside monument dogs are generally welcome on a lead, but check signage and clean up.
  • Parking: Small free car park at the foot of the hill. The entrance is on an awkward corner, so approach with care.
  • Food: None on site. Cookstown, around 4km away, has cafes, shops and the Visitor Information Centre.
Plan your visit

Stand where Ireland's kings were crowned

The fort is two concentric circular banks enclosing a level summit, all now wooded. This is where O'Cahan and O'Hagan inaugurated each new O'Neill: a golden sandal thrown over the lord's head for good fortune, a shoe placed on his foot, and a rod of office handed over. The ceremony happened beside the Leac na Ri, the flagstone of the kings, which by the 16th century had been built into a stone chair. Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, was the last man crowned here in 1595. Excavations in 2014 and 2015 uncovered the foundations of a medieval settlement at the foot of the hill, thought to be the O'Hagan farmstead that guarded the site.

Free Open access 11th-17th century O'Neill inauguration site Mid-Ulster views Short hill walk
Good to know before you go:

State Care monuments like Tullaghoge sometimes host guided walks, heritage open days and living-history events through the year, often run with the Department for Communities or Mid Ulster District Council. Check what is on before you visit if you want a guided angle on the O'Neill story.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 👟Sturdy shoesRuins mean uneven ground, worn steps and the odd spiral stair.
  • 🧥A coatMost of it is open to the sky, so dress for the day and enjoy the fresh air.
  • 📷A cameraThe old stonework and the views are the whole point — you will want photos.
  • 💧Water and a snackFew ruins have a café right on site, so bring a little something.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Getting in
Free, open access. No admission charge, no booking, no staff on site.
Opening
Open during daylight hours year-round. Access occasionally restricted for conservation works, check before a special trip.
Can you go inside
No building to enter. The monument is the earthwork itself, which you walk onto and across.
Food
None on site. Cookstown, around 4km away, has cafes, shops and the Visitor Information Centre.
Dogs
Not formally stated. As an open countryside monument dogs are generally welcome on a lead, but check signage and clean up.
Parking
Small free car park at the foot of the hill. The entrance is on an awkward corner, so approach with care.
Accessibility
An uphill path from the car park to the summit over grass and earthwork; not suitable for wheelchairs or limited mobility.
How long to allow
30 minutes to 1 hour.
Address
Tullywiggan Road, Tullahogue, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, BT80 8UB.
Questions

Before you go

Is it free to visit?
Free, open access. No admission charge, no booking, no staff on site.
Can you go inside?
No building to enter. The monument is the earthwork itself, which you walk onto and across.
When is it open?
Open during daylight hours year-round. Access occasionally restricted for conservation works, check before a special trip.
Can I bring the dog?
Not formally stated. As an open countryside monument dogs are generally welcome on a lead, but check signage and clean up.
Where do I park?
Small free car park at the foot of the hill. The entrance is on an awkward corner, so approach with care.
Getting there

Tullaghoge Fort is at Tullywiggan Road, Tullahogue, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, BT80 8UB.. Small free car park at the foot of the hill. The entrance is on an awkward corner, so approach with care. Tap below for directions.

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Nearby

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The story

The story of Tullaghoge

Tullaghoge, from the Irish Tulach Og meaning the Mound of the Warriors, rose to prominence in the 11th century as the dynastic centre of the Cenel nEogain, the kindred who became the O'Neills. For roughly six centuries this hilltop was the place where the chief of Tyrone was made. The ceremony was carried out not by the O'Neill himself but by his great vassal families: O'Cahan, the principal sub-chief, and O'Hagan, the hereditary guardian of the site.

At the heart of the ritual stood the Leac na Ri, the flagstone of the kings, a large boulder set outside the fort. By the 16th century three further slabs had been placed around it to form a stone inauguration chair. The new lord was seated, given a single shoe and a white rod, and proclaimed The O'Neill. The last man inaugurated here was Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, in 1595, on the eve of the Nine Years War.

In 1602 Lord Mountjoy, commanding the English forces against O'Neill, marched on Tullaghoge and deliberately smashed the inauguration chair to pieces. It was a calculated act: by destroying the stone he destroyed the means of making a Gaelic king of Tyrone. Within a few years O'Neill had submitted and then fled Ireland in the Flight of the Earls of 1607. The site was abandoned by the early 1620s, with a planter's widow recorded living there in 1619.

Today the Department for Communities cares for the monument as a State Care site. A 500,000 pound investment, completed in 2016, added a car park, a new path and interpretation. Recent excavations at the base of the hill revealed a medieval settlement, probably the O'Hagan farmstead, adding fresh detail to a place that shaped the politics of Ulster for half a millennium.