Coney Island is an island in

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It is about 1 km offshore from

Maghery Maghery ()Placenames NI
is a small

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

, is thickly wooded and of nearly in area. It lies between the mouths of the River Blackwater and the

River Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...

in the south-west corner of Lough Neagh. Boat trips to the island are available at weekends from

Maghery Country Park Maghery Country Park is a park in the village of Maghery, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, on the shores of Lough Neagh. It covers and includes five km of woodland walks and picnic areas and is used for birdwatching, fishing, and walking ...

or Kinnego Marina. The island is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and managed on their behalf by

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Armagh City and District Council, Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council. The first elections to the a ...

. Coney Island Flat is a rocky outcrop adjacent to the island. Although Samuel Lewis called Coney Island the only island in

, Armagh's section of Lough Neagh also includes Croaghan Island, as well as the marginal cases of Padian and

Derrywarragh Island Derrywarragh Island is a boulder clay island on Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. It is linked by a bridge to Maghery, County Armagh. The island is approximately northwest of Portadown. Most of the island is wet grassland. There are also areas of ...

Name

The original

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

name of the island was ''Inis Dabhaill'', "island of the Blackwater", so named because it lies opposite where the river Blackwater enters Lough Neagh.Coney Island
Place Names NI. In English it was called Enish Douel and then Sidney's Island. The current name comes from coney, meaning "rabbit".

History

Coney Island has a rich history with long evidence of human occupation. This causeway was breached in the 19th century to allow the passage of barges from the Bann to the Blackwater. Norman Round Tower, Coney Island, Lough Neagh

Norman Round Tower, Coney Island, Lough Neagh

It features a 13th-century

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

. A native settlement flourished there in the later

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

when there was also a small iron industry. Subsequently, the island was refortified with a bank, ditch and an external palisade. Coney Island Grave

It also has a 16th-century stone tower. The island was one of the

O'Neill's O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...

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. 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, and bought the island building a summer house in 1895.Capper, W. ''Caring for the Countryside'' In 1946 the island was given to the National Trust by Fred Storey. Sailing boats in for the night, Coney Island, Lough Neagh

Sailing boats in for the night, Coney Island, Lough Neagh

References

{{authority control Islands of County Armagh National Trust properties in Northern Ireland Lough Neagh Lake islands of Northern Ireland