View source for Coney Island, Lough Neagh

[[File:Coney Island, Lough Neagh - geograph.org.uk - 279227.jpg|thumb|Coney Island in Lough Neagh]]
'''Coney Island''' is an island in [[Lough Neagh]], just off the [[County Armagh]] coast of the lough, less than a mile from [[Maghery]] in that county.

Coney Island is thickly wooded and of nearly 9 acres in area. It lies between the mouths of the [[River Blackwater, County Armagh|River Blackwater]] and the [[River Bann]] in the south-west corner of Lough Neagh.<ref name="UJ">{{cite journal | title=Coney Island, Lough Neagh | work=Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol 28, 1965 (by PV Addyman)| jstor=20627417}}</ref> Boat trips to the island are available at weekends from Maghery Country Park or Kinnego Marina.<ref name="DN">{{cite web | title=Lough Neagh Boat Trips| work=Discover Northern Ireland| url=http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Lough-Neagh-Boat-Trips-A2551 | accessdate=6 August 2010}}</ref>

The island is owned by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] and managed on their behalf by the local council.<ref name="CN">{{cite web | title=Coney Island| work=Culture Northern Ireland| url=http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article.aspx?art_id=895| accessdate=6 August 2010}}</ref>

==Name==
Coney Island was once known as ''Innisclabhall'' and then as Sydney's Island.

The name "Coney Island", presumably given for the rabbits found there, is not an uncommon name in Ulster.

==Historical interest==
Coney Island has a rich history with long evidence of human occupation. Excavations carried out in 1962-63 indicated that there was a settlement on the island in Neolithic times which lasted into the Bronze Age. The island was connected to the mainland by a causeway or submerged ridge, which can be seen in summer when it is under less than two feet of water. It is known locally as Saint Patrick's Road, as this apparently ubiquitous saint is said to have used the island as a place of retreat. This causeway was breached in the 19th century to allow the passage of barges from the Bann to the Blackwater.<ref name="UJ"/>

On the island a 13th century Anglo-Norman motte may be seen.<ref name="BT">{{cite web | title=Reserves of splendour to savour at Lough Neagh| work=Belfast Telegraph (by Linda Stewart, 9 November 2009| url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/weekend/reserves-of-splendour-to-savour-at-lough-neagh-14556473.html | accessdate=6 August 2010}}</ref> and was one of the most westerly outposts of the Normans during their occupation of Ulster.<ref name="DN"/> A native settlement flourished there in the later Middle Ages when there was also a small iron industry. Subsequently the island was refortified with a bank, ditch and an external palisade.<ref name="UJ"/> 

The island also has a 16th century stone tower<ref name="BT"/> used by Shane Ó Neill as a lookout post and stronghold for his riches,<ref name="CN"/> and largely reconstructed. The island was one of O'Neill's major strongholds, but was delivered to Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sydney in 1567, and appears to have continued in use as a fort for a generation at least. At some later point the defences were thoroughly razed. In the 17th and 18th centuries the island was only sporadically occupied.<ref name="UJ"/> In the 1890s, Coney Island was bought by James Alfred Caulfield (1830-1913), 7th Viscount Charlemont, supposedly for £150. He lived in Drumcairne, just outside [[Stewartstown, County Tyrone|Stewartstown]], and bought the island building a summer house in 1895.<ref>Capper, W. ''Caring for the Countryside''</ref> The Viscount's remains are entombed in the tower on the island.<ref name="CN"/> In 1946 the island was given to the National Trust by Fred Storey.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Lough Neagh Islands}}

[[Category:Islands in Lough Neagh]] [[Category:Lough islands in County Armagh]]