Ardstraw

Ardstraw is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, three miles northwest of Newtownstewart. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 222 people .Ardstraw was once the seat of an important bishopric, as well as the ancient resting place of the local branch of the O'Neill clan. Today, the village is a key part of a thriving farming community. The stone mill buildings at Ardstraw are a distinctive riverside feature on the River Derg.BishopricThe Diocese of Ardstraw was founded in the 6th century by Saint Eoghan. It is one of the dioceses recognized by the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111. Although the 1152 Synod of Kells replaced it in its list of dioceses with that of Maghera, the seat of which was later moved to Derry, bishops of Ardstraw continued to exist until the early 13th century, when the see was finally united to that of Derry.No longer a residential bishopric, Árd Sratha is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.John de CourcyIn 1198, John de Courcy, a Norman knight who had invaded Ulster in 1177, returned to County Donegal to devastate Inishowen and on his way destroyed churches at Ardstraw and Raphoe.