Neagh

Lough Neagh is a vast shallow lake in the heart of Ulster, fed by rivers from the surrounding lowlands and drained northward by the River Bann. Its shores and islands have long supported settlements, while its waters provided fish for local families. At the Bann outlet near Toome, weirs caught eels moving downstream. In 1640 Charles I granted the bed of the lake and the River Bann to the Earl of Donegall, making ownership and fishing rights part of the changing pattern of landholding in the seventeenth century.