A feature article in the Irish Times describes the lough's unusual powers. Submerged branches become petrified over centuries, and recovered pieces were once sold locally as Lough Neagh bones, used for sharpening tools. The writer says that, according to Irish folklore, the lord of the underworld is supposed to exist beneath its waters, and that Thomas Moore preserved the mystery in verse.
The lake also has real curiosities, including one of Europe's largest wild eel populations, the pollan fish, and the skull and antlers of an Irish elk estimated at 10,500 years old retrieved by fishermen. The folk belief about the underworld is stated in the article without a collected source, so it is treated as general tradition.
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