Skating on Lough Neagh

As the Big Freeze plays havoc with the working life of Northern Ireland, there is plenty of time for play. The frozen lough is call to the adventurous and the ridiculous. Dogs, dancers and even drivers take to the ice. Before the thaw sets in a mini tests the ice in an escapade reminiscent of the Crumlin merchant Mr Robert Mulholland who entertained skaters by crossing the lough on his grey horse and sleigh 68 years earlier.

Skating parties on Lough Neagh have a delightful history. In 1895 the Belfast Newsletter reported on the antics that took place on ‘this vast sheet of water in the clutches of King Frost’. The Great Northern Railway even ran special skaters’ trains to bring crowds from as far as Belfast. People could enjoy some poitín (Irish moonshine) to take a nip against the cold. And for those not ready to go home, a torch lit procession invited them to skate into the hours of darkness. Lough Neagh itself of course was formed when the mythical giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill seized a handful of earth and threw it into the Irish Channel creating both the basin for the lough and the Isle of Man. This material is Courtesy of the UTV Archive.