Maghery is a village in the townland of the same name. It is situated on the south-western shore of Lough Neagh in the parish of Tartaraghan, Barony of O'Neilland West. The village is described in the Ordnance Memoirs in May 1835 as " . . . close to the shore of Lough Neagh. It consists of 16 houses of 1-story, thatched. The houses are rather scattered and the greater number of the inhabitants support themselves by fishing."

A few hundred yards off the shore lies Coney Island which was once linked to the mainland by a highway named Saint Patrick's Road. No visible remains of this road can be seen today. Coney Island, which was once known as Innisclabhall and Sydney's Island, is accredited with being the source for the naming of Coney Island in New York. The Island was part of the Charlemont estate until in 1946 Lord Charlemont passed it into the care of the National Trust. Extensive excavations in 1962-4 found that the Island was a site of human occupation throughout the prehistoric period from Mesolithic to the Iron Age. Coney Island also contains an Anglo-Norman motte and sixteenth century defences including a circular tower.

Welch collection Maghery Pollen Nets © Ulster Museum - Magni 2004 Reproduced with the kind permission of the Trustees of the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland. This image must not be copied or reproduced in any form without the permission of the Ulster Museum

Another site of archaeological note in the area is O'Connors Stronghold located on Derrywarragh Island near Maghery. The remains of a seventeenth century fortified house with a brick chimney stack measuring 32 feet can still be found here. The fortification was most likely built as a watchtower to protect the mouth of the River Blackwater.