Constituency profile: The capture of this seat by Michelle Gildernew in the 2001 Westminster elections contributed significantly to the "greening of the west" by Sinn Féin.
Although the party's hold on the parliamentary seat is by a mere handful of votes, the party is still aiming to "green" Fermanagh and South Tyrone further by confirming two out of the six seats and placing itself at the fore if or when a third nationalist/republican seat becomes available thanks to demographics.
The SDLP will be keen not to cede further ground to Sinn Féin as the nationalist vote in general edges towards a fourth quota. SDLP figures continue to insist it can capture a second seat and are promising a better-managed vote strategy.
The constituency is well-known following the victory of Bobby Sands from his prison hospital bed in 1981 and the consolidation by Owen Carron, following, the hunger striker's death. Mr Carron was defeated by Ken (now Lord) Maginnis in 1983, who held the seat until retirement in 2001. The seat was revised in 1995 and the Coalisland area north of Dungannon was lost to Mid-Ulster. This made the nationalist-unionist balance much closer.
The SDLP's Tommy Gallagher topped the poll last time, but only some 63 per cent transferred to his party running mate who only figured eighth in the first preference total.
Sinn Féin is again running three candidates, two of them also ran five years ago. Their first preference share-out and transfer pattern last time showed discipline.
The Ulster Unionists will not have Mr Sam Foster, a strong Trimble ally and former minister in the executive, who has retired. But UUP party officer Arlene Foster, the agreement sceptic and Jeffrey Donaldson ally, is running.
Mr Tom Elliot is a first time contender for the assembly and has already been headlined by the party in one of its election broadcasts and at a press briefing at party headquarters in Belfast. How the unionist vote is shared among the outright agreement-hostile DUP and doubters such as Ms Foster will make this election particularly difficult to call.
The DUP's Mr Maurice Morrow managed to overtake Mr Robert McCartney's UKUP candidate thus giving the constituency two Ulster Unionists, two Sinn Féin, and a seat each to the SDLP and the DUP.