Lough Neagh (pronounced [lɒx neɪ]; Irish Loch nEathach [lɔx ˈɲahax]) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. With an area of 388 square kilometres (150 square miles) it is by far the largest lake on the island of Ireland and the largest in the British Isles; among the lakes of Western Europe as a whole it is the third largest (after Lake Geneva and Lake Constance). It is likewise the largest lake in the United Kingdom. Approximately 30 km (20 mi) long and 15 km (9 mi) wide, Lough Neagh is situated some 30 km (20 mi) to the west of Belfast. It is very shallow around the margins and the average depth in the main body of the lake is about 9 m (30 ft); although at its deepest the lough is about 25 m (80 ft) deep. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 593 pixel Image in higher resolution (1280 × 948 pixel, file size: 151 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lough Neagh Category... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Not to be confused with the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. ... Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (de facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official languages English (de facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3, BSL, NISL, ISL Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Ian Paisley  - Deputy First Minister... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... This article is about the unit of measure. ... Location of the British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands off the north west coast of continental Europe comprising Great Britain, Ireland and a number of smaller islands. ... Largest Lakes of Western Europe - Rank Order: Lake Geneva (Lac Léman, Lac de Genève) - 581. ... Lake Geneva or Lake Léman (French Lac Léman, le Léman, or Lac de Genève) is the second largest freshwater lake in Central Europe (after Lake Balaton). ... Map of the Bodensee; Schweiz is Switzerland, Deutschland is Germany, and Osterreich is Austria. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...

Of the 4550km² catchment area, 9% lies in Republic of Ireland ^[1]; 43% of the land area of Northern Ireland is drained into the lough ^[2], which itself flows out northwards to the sea via the River Bann. As one of its sources is the Upper Bann, the Lough can itself be considered a part of the Bann. The River Bann is the largest river in Northern Ireland. ...

Location

Five of the six counties of Northern Ireland have shores on the Lough: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Londonderry and Tyrone. Towns and villages near the Lough include Antrim, Crumlin, Toomebridge, Ballyronan, Ballinderry, Moortown, Ardboe, Maghery, Lurgan and Magherafelt. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For much of its history, the island of Ireland was divided into 32 counties (Irish language contae or condae, pronounced IPA: ). Two historical counties, County Desmond and County Coleraine, no longer exist. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Antrim Area: 2,844 km² Population (est. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Armagh Area: 1,254 km² Population (est. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Downpatrick Area: 2,448 km² Population (est. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Derry Area: 2,074 km² Population (est. ... Statistics Province: Ulster County Town: Omagh Area: 3,155 km² Population (est. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... Crumlin (in Irish: Cromghlinn, ie crooked glen) is a large village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, situated near Lough Neagh 20 miles west of Belfast city centre. ... Toome (sometimes called Toomebridge) is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the northeast corner of Lough Neagh. ... Ballyronan (Irish: Baile Rónáin, meaning Place of Rónán) is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland on the shore of Lough Neagh, about 12 miles from Cookstown. ... Ballinderry (Irish: Baile an Doire) is a small parish situated on the County Derry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. ... Moortown (Irish: Baile na Mona), is a small village in the north east of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. ... Ardboe (in Irish: Ard Bó, ie height of the cow), is a small village in the north east of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. ... Maghery is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54. ...

Although the Lough is used for a variety of recreational and commercial activities, it is exposed and tends to get extremely rough very quickly in windy conditions. It is also used as a source of fresh water by the DRD Water Service. Plans to increase the amount of water drawn from the Lough, through a new water treatment works at Hog Park Point, have long been planned but are yet to materialise. The Water Service is a water company that operates in Northern Ireland. ... Water treatment in a general sense reffers to the treatement of water to make it more acceptable for what will be done with it (either usage or discharge into the environment). ...

Traditional working boats on Lough Neagh include wide-beamed 16-21ft clinker-built, sprit-rigged working boats and smaller flat-bottomed cots and 'flats'. Barges, here called 'lighters', were used up to the 1940 to transport coal over the lough and adjacent canals. Up to the 17th century, log boats (coití) were the main means of transport, some of which are as old as 6,400 years. Few traditional boats are left now, but a community based group on the southern shore of the lough is rebuilding a series of working boats Lough Neagh Boating Heritage Association.

Lough Neagh Rescue provides a rescue service 24 hours a day. It is a voluntary service, but its members are dedicated and possess significant expertise. Rescues are coordinated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The Maritime and Coastguard Agencys Logo The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK government agency working to prevent the loss of lives at searesponsible for implimenting maritime safety policy. ...

Lough Neagh attracts bird watchers from many nations due to the number and variety of birds which winter and summer in the boglands and shores around the lough. Birding or birdwatching is a hobby concerned with the observation and study of birds (the study proper is termed American origin; birdwatching is (or more correctly, was) the commonly-used word in Great Britain and Ireland and by non-birders in the United States. ... Virgin boreal acid bogs at Browns Lake Bog, Ohio A bog is a wetland type that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material. ...

Eel fishing has been a major industry in Lough Neagh for centuries. Today Lough Neagh eel fisheries export their eels to restaurants all over the world. For other uses, see Eel (disambiguation). ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering animals not classifiable as insects which breathe in water or pass their lives in water. ...

There are a number of islands in the lough: Coney Island, Coney Island Flat, Croaghan Flat, Derrywarragh Island, Padian, Ram's Island, Phil Roe's Flat and The Shallow Flat. (Note: list incomplete)

Lough Neagh was widely assumed to be owned by the state, but in 2005 it publicly emerged that it is the ancestral property of the Earls of Shaftesbury. This may have serious implications for planned changes to state-run domestic water services in Northern Ireland, as the lough supplies 40% of the region's drinking water and is also used as a sewage outfall (in a system only permissible through Crown immunity). The title of Earl of Shaftesbury was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. Lord Shaftesbury holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Ashley, of Wimborne St Giles in the County of Dorset (1661...

Legend

An old Irish story tells how the Lough was formed when Ireland's legendary giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (sometimes known as Finn McCool) scooped up a portion of the land and tossed it at a Scottish rival. He missed, and the chunk of earth landed in the Irish Sea, thus creating the Isle of Man. Fionn mac Cumhaill (pronounced /fuN mÉ™ ku:L/, /fiN mÉ™ ku:L/, /fu:n mÉ™ ku:l/ or /foun mÉ™ ku:l/ according to dialect)(earlier Finn or Find mac Cumail or mac Umaill, later Anglicised to Finn McCool) was a hunter-warrior of the Gaelic... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots3 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  -  First Minister Jack McConnell... Relief map of the Irish Sea. ...

See also

• List of Irish lochs and loughs
• List of lakes

This is a list of Irish loughs and lochs. ... // A list of major or noteworthy lakes, ordered by continent. ...

References

1. ^ Environmental Change Network
2. ^ Northern Ireland Rivers Agency

External links

• Lough Neagh Boating Heritage Association
• Lough Neagh Rescue
• BBC News on pollution
• BBC News on ownership of Lough Neagh
• Google satellite map of Lough Neagh, with Belfast to the right hand side
• Oxford Island National Nature Reserve