Strabane

Strabane (Irish,an Srath B?n, the White Strand) is a town in the west of County Tyrone in Northern Ireland on the border with County Donegal. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council (Comhairle Ceantair an tSrath B?n). The historic village of Lifford in County Donegal lies on the other side of the River Mourne, marking the border between the two counties.

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Strabane town stands roughly half-way between Omagh and Derry. According to the latest census figures, 93.3% of the town's population is from a Roman Catholic background. At the last council elections in May 2005 members were elected from the following political parties: 8 Sinn F?in, 3 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 2 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 2 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and 1 Independent Nationalist. The current Council Chairman is Councillor Brian McMahon (Sinn F?in).

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Pat Doherty MP, of Sinn F?in, represents Strabane as part of the West Tyrone constituency at Westminster. The Strabane District Council Area covers an area of 861.6 sq km. According to the 2001 Census, Strabane has a total population of 38,250.

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Strabane is twinned with Sioux Falls in South Dakota, USA, and with Zeulenroda in the District of Thuringia, Germany.

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The river Mourne flows through the centre of the town, and meets with the river Finn to form the river Foyle. Strabane suffered huge economic damage in 1987 when much of the centre of the town was flooded. The wider area is scenic and very attractive with many forests and glens. People come from all over the world to fish in the beautiful River Mourne, including golfing legend Tiger Woods, particularly between Victoria Bridge and Strabane. The town is home to one of Ireland's largest and most picturesque golf courses.

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Irish: Irish may refer to:...

County Tyrone: :This article is about County Tyrone. For other uses of the name, see Tyrone (disambiguation)....

Northern Ireland: :For an explanation of often confusing terms like Ulster, (Republic of) Ireland, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology)....