Coney Island
Coney Island is named after it’s rabbit population & has breathtaking views of the Sligo Coastline…
Coney Island is an island of approximately 400 acres and is named after the vast quantity of rabbits which can be spotted on the island at any time. Coney is in fact another word for rabbit.
There are a lot of stories about faeries, mermaids and spirits on Coney Island, and visitors can try to find the elusive St. Patrick’s wishing chair, St. Patrick’s well and some fairy forts.
In the last century the merchant ship “Arethusa” used to sail between Sligo and New York. The captain of the ship, observing many rabbits on the New York island, apparently then named Coney Island, New York, after his own Coney Island in Sligo Bay.
Coney Island is accessible by boat from Rosses Point, or by driving or walking over the causeway, two and a half kilometers across Cummeen Strand, guided by 14 pillars, at low tide. The bollards were constructed in the mid-1800s, lining up with the Black Rock lighthouse, to aid in night time travel across the bay.
