Lough Neagh is the largest lake in the British Isles. It covers an area of 383 km² being 30 km along its longest axis. From pre-historic times the lake and its rivers influenced the settlements of man in the role of a fishery and communication link with the interior of Ireland. Ireland's first canal, completed in 1787, linked the small but significant coal deposits of Tyrone to Dublin by way of the lough and later the Lagen Canal became an important commercial route to the new city of Belfast.
Today, only sand barge transport persists but the lough supports Europe's largest...