The Forgotten Castles of Castlederg, County Tyrone

Hidden among the quiet fields and wooded banks of Castlederg, County Tyrone, lie the traces of fortresses that once defined borders, power, and identity. These forgotten castles of Castlederg, now little more than ruins and fragments, speak of centuries of rivalry between the O’Neills of Tyrone and the O’Donnells of Tyrconnell, long before peace ever reached the Derg Valley.
For anyone with roots in Castlederg, Ardstraw, Drumquin, or nearby Newtownstewart, these stories are not just part of history; they may be part of your family’s story too.

Derg Castle – A Stronghold Between Worlds
The first record of Derg Castle appears in the Annals of Ulster in 1497, when the O’Neills captured it, only to lose it again to the O’Donnells a few years later. The castle changed hands repeatedly over the next century, standing as a marker of the ongoing struggle for control in West Tyrone.
By the 1590s, the English Crown’s influence reached Ulster. Hugh O’Neill, Red Hugh O’Donnell, and their Gaelic allies united briefly to resist colonisation, but by 1600 Castlederg had fallen and was left in ruins. In 1622, its remains were rebuilt as a Plantation-era Bawn, which lasted until the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when it too was destroyed.
Today, its ivy-covered walls beside the River Derg still offer a silent reminder of a turbulent past
Castle Gore – Castlegore’s Vanished Fortress
A few hundred metres away, in the townland of Castlegore, once stood Castle Gore, now completely vanished. Built around the 1650s, it was recorded in the Down Survey and later became home to the Edwards family, who held local authority in 17th‑century Tyrone.
By the 1830s, it had disappeared from the landscape entirely. Now, only quiet fields mark the place where it once stood, a forgotten chapter in the story of Castlederg and its people.
Castlederg in the Network of Tyrone Castles
From Castlederg to Newtownstewart, Augher, and Dungannon, the castles of Tyrone formed part of a vast web of fortifications across Gaelic and Plantation Ireland. They were strongholds, administrative centres, and, later, settlements where families took root, worked the land, and built communities whose names still appear in parish records and townlands today.
These structures help us understand not only military history, but also the migration patterns, land divisions, and family records that genealogists use to trace Tyrone lineages.
Reconnecting with Your Tyrone Heritage
If your family once lived in Castlederg, Ardstraw, or Drumquin, their records may still lie in parish registers, estate papers, census returns, and valuation books scattered across County Tyrone.
At Tyrone Genealogy Services, we specialize in uncovering those stories, tracing families through centuries of local change, interpreting records, and building a narrative that connects you to your Tyrone ancestry.
Whether you’re taking your first step into family history or building on years of research, we can help you discover where your story fits into the landscape of Castlederg, its castles, and its people.
Contact Tyrone Genealogy Services today to begin your journey through County Tyrone’s past.