Lough Neagh is a vast historic lake in Northern Ireland and pronounced “lokh nay”. Lough Neagh is the largest and oldest freshwater lake in the British Isles. Northern Ireland is a part of the British empire and sends members to the British Parliament. Ireland is a sovereign nation with its own government.
Lough Neagh lies in far Northern Ireland. Its waters touch five of Northern Ireland’s counties, Antrim, Armagh, Down, Londonderry, and Tyrone. This lake covers 151 square miles, give or take a few miles. It has an average depth of 30 feet. Rural agricultural lands, big water, wetlands, and wooded areas define Lough Neagh.
Famous for a significant eel population, Lough Neagh is the largest commercial and wild eel fishery in Europe today (2024). A large amount of harvested Lough Neagh eel go to Holland for smoked eel and Billingsgate, London, for the production of jellied eel.
Multiple rivers feed Lough Neagh, including the Ballinderry River, River Blackwater, River Main, Six Mile Water, Mayola, and the Upper River Bann. Lough Neagh drains into the River Bann, which eventually flows into the Atlantic Ocean. All these features and more contribute to Lough Neagh’s beautiful allure.
What Does “Lough” Mean in Irish?
The Irish “Lough” translates to the English “lake’. Lough can also refer to a long, narrow bay (like a fjord) or an inlet of the Sea in Ireland. Irish (Gaeilge), Manx (Gaelg or Gailck), and Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) are Goidelic languages of the Celtic (Gaelic) language family. The Republic of Ireland adopted Irish as its first official language, and Northern Ireland recognizes Irish as a minority language.
What Percentage of Northern Ireland Is Lough Neagh?
Lough Neagh’s catchment area drains 43% of Northern Ireland’s land and some border areas in the Republic of Ireland. A catchment area is the land area around the lake that it drains into, and what the U.S. refers to as a watershed. Lough Neagh’s catchment area covers 1,760-square-miles and takes up 91% of Northern Ireland and 9% in the Republic of Ireland.
Lough Neagh is approximately twenty-miles long and nine-miles wide. Lough Neagh ranks 31st in the largest lakes of Europe. Lough Neagh provides over 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and supplies water to over half of Belfast, its capital city.
What Is Special About Lough Neagh?
What isn’t special about this wonderful lake? Not much, but we discuss the few negatives below. Lough Neagh carries cultural, environmental, evolutional, and historical value. It is rich in mythology as well. Lough Neagh packs more origin stories in the form of myths and legends than most historical places on earth.
The Ramsar Convention designated Lough Neagh as “A Wetland of International Importance” in 1976. Lough Neagh Partnership Ltd. manages Lough Neagh. This is a consortium of stakeholders that includes elected representatives, fishermen, land-owners, sand traders, and local community representatives.
The European Birds Directive designated Lough Neagh as a Special Protected Area (SPA). The UK environmental legislation designated this lake as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI). Lough Neagh’s natural beauty and ecological habitats support wealthy populations of birds, fish, and plants.
Food and Fun
Small villages and towns dot Lough Neagh’s shoreline. They are famous in the worldwide foodie world. Lough Neagh’s towns explode with lively pubs. They include Northern Ireland’s most charming towns, Antrim, Ardboe, Ballyronan, Ballinderry, Brockagh, Craigavon, Crumlin, Lurgan, Magherafelt, Maghery, Moortown, Randalstown, and Toomebridge.
The largest concentration of great crested grebes in Ireland flock to Lough Neagh. Breeding black-headed gulls call the lake their home in the summer season. Nationally important populations of common tern, gadwall ducks, ochard orioles, redshanks, shoveler ducks, snipes, and tufted ducks all hang out at Lough Neagh.
Lough Neagh is primarily a working landscape, with commercial activitiestightly connected to its natural resources and geography. Agriculture, fishing, recreation, renewable energy, sand extraction, and tourism are the industries at Lough Neagh that keep its region viable.
Is it Safe to Swim in Lough Neagh?
In July 2023, Lough Neagh’s blue-green algae levels were higher than any levels seen since the 1970s. By October 2023, Lough Neagh was not considered safe for swimming due to the presence of toxic blue-green algae. By July 2024, Northern Ireland’s Department for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA) recorded 17 confirmed reports of blue-green algae at Lough Neagh. During season, Lough Neagh officials report where it is not safe to swim in the lake.
What Happened at Lough Neagh?
Historically speaking, too many incidents to count occurred at Lough Neagh. More recently, habitat disruption, overfishing, and pollution must be carefully mitigated to ensure the long-term sustainability of Lough Neagh’s resources.
Pollution from agricultural run-off and the lake’s response to an influx of nutrients, especially nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) promotes the growth of algae. Algae blooms are extremely toxic to animals and can make people sick. Ongoing conservation efforts are in effect to balance economic activity with environmental preservation at Lough Neagh.
What Is the Myth of Lough Neagh?
Evidence exists that the famous eels of Lough Neagh were first eaten by locals as far back as in the Bronze Age, which started around 3300 BC and lasted until around 1200 BC. That is a lot of time for the creation of fantastic folklore, legends, and myths.
A few of Lough Neagh’s most well-known legends tell how Lough Neagh formed:
Fionn McCumhaill (Fionn or Finn) was chasing a Scottish giant. Fionn picked up a huge lump of earth in the north of Ireland and threw it at the giant. The lump landed in the sea. In different regions in Northern Ireland, the lump formed either the Isle of Man or the Ailsa Craig. McCumhaill’s lump left an enormous hole in Ireland’s ground, which filled up to become Lough Neagh.
The Isle of Man is named after an ancient god, Manannan. The triskele (or triskelion) is an ancient symbol which originated in pre-Christian Europe. The symbol depicts three curved and jointed segments that spiral from a common center. One version of the triskele, with three human legs, has been used in the coat of arms for the Isle of Man and the Kingdom of Naples.
Historians theorize that the triskele symbol dates back to prehistoric times and relates the triskele to a symbol for a comet. The triskele was discovered in artifacts from the European Neolithic and Bronze Ages. It is thought that the three spirals represent the three elements of earth, water, and air.
Or maybe the triskele symbol represents the three aspects of the Triple Goddess in Celtic mythology: maiden, mother, and crone. Or it could mean that Fionn is the bright sky god, and seen as a comet. The myth goes that a part of the sky god, which is a comet, strikes the earth and leaves a circular hole in the ground. This created Lough Neagh.
There it is–Lough Neagh–an outstanding place to be when you are fortunate!
