0:05:26 > 0:05:30# Fare thee well my native green clad hills
0:05:30 > 0:05:33# Fare thee well my shamrock glens
0:05:33 > 0:05:37# Ye verdant banks of sweet Lough Neagh
0:05:37 > 0:05:41# Ye silvery winding streams
0:05:41 > 0:05:45# Though far from home in green Tyrone
0:05:45 > 0:05:48# By flora first I strayed
0:05:48 > 0:05:52# That adorn you Killycolpy
0:05:52 > 0:05:56# Where I spent my boyhood days
0:05:57 > 0:06:01# Shall I ne'er behold Shane's Castle bold
0:06:01 > 0:06:04# Or look on Massereene
0:06:04 > 0:06:09# Shall my cot ne'er land on the Banks of Bann
0:06:09 > 0:06:12# Coney Island or Rosskeen
0:06:12 > 0:06:16# Shall an autumn gale ne'er fill my sail?
0:06:16 > 0:06:20# Or the dim declining moon
0:06:20 > 0:06:25# See the tempest toss on the shores of Doss
0:06:25 > 0:06:28# Or the raging bay of Toome
0:06:30 > 0:06:34# Although alas long years have passed
0:06:34 > 0:06:37# Still I toast that beauteous Isle
0:06:37 > 0:06:41# That soon e'er long in this land of song
0:06:41 > 0:06:45# The star of freedom smile
0:06:45 > 0:06:49# May plenty bloom from the Bann to Toome
0:06:49 > 0:06:52# And the shamrock verdant grow
0:06:52 > 0:06:57# Green o'er those graves by Lough Neagh's waves
0:06:57 > 0:07:01# And the cross of old Ardboe. #
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Just a...a load of quays.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44And there would be three men in each boat and there'd be a family connected to them.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47So there'd be women out gathering worms,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51the old fellows would be running the lines - they'd the skill for it.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And they'd be up there perched under a boat.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57Just in this quay, there were five boats.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59So you're talking about 20-30 people
0:07:59 > 0:08:03who are intimately connected with this place and with fishing.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06So it was a big, big industry. And it's...
0:08:17 > 0:08:20A lot of young fellas prefer to work as electricians and builders.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22They go to Dundalk and make really good money.
0:08:22 > 0:08:28It'll be interesting to see what happens now that the recession has hit so hard.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31It's possible that there might be a move back to the lough shore.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52I suppose you can take the Tyrone man out of Ardboe,
0:08:52 > 0:08:53but you can't etc, etc.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It's...it's...it's very important.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01You know, I have a huge problem at home, which is that my kids are Dubs,
0:09:01 > 0:09:05you know, so there's terrible, terrible internecine strife when Tyrone plays Dublin.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I think of myself as absolutely based here, you know,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and I've always been happiest when I come home to Ardboe.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17And in many ways, I envy the boys that I grew up with, who live here...
0:09:46 > 0:09:52We sang a lot at home, and Davy Hammond was a friend of the family.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Davy used to come down. Our second single, the difficult second single,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00with the Horslips was actually a song that Davy gave us, Green Gravel.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04But, you know, I would always have been hugely interested
0:10:04 > 0:10:06in the likes of Geordie Hannah.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08There are a lot of good players in Ardboe, as well.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13The Ryans - there'd be a great tradition of fiddle-playing and that.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Um, so, you know...you couldn't... you couldn't miss it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21It just comes with you. It's kind of genetic.
0:10:58 > 0:11:04The local people here got word in the summer of 1940 that they were going to have to be moved from their homes,
0:11:04 > 0:11:0635 families, to make way for an airfield.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11And by December 1940, all 35 families had been moved out.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13And they started creating this military airfield.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16And was there much resistance to that at the time?
0:11:16 > 0:11:19There wasn't any resistance as such, because the people knew...
0:11:19 > 0:11:23It was wartime, and it was more or less a Government edict.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27People went without any struggle, but they did get compensated
0:11:27 > 0:11:30for the loss of their land and their homes and so on.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And this was primarily an American base, was it?
0:11:33 > 0:11:35Initially, the RAF was on it,
0:11:35 > 0:11:39setting-up phase, but the Americans took over to train bombing crews
0:11:39 > 0:11:44for the bombers, which were bombing Germany over Europe at that time.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55I heard a lot of people talking about seeing the bombers coming in.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Usually they flew out in the morning. Some local people thought they were
0:11:59 > 0:12:02going to Germany to bomb, but they weren't, they were training.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07When they went out, they flew maybe five, six hours, came back.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Maybe they flew over to England, landed, stayed a few hours
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and came back late in the evenings, sometimes at night.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16And it made a great impact on the local people,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20seeing those massive bombers, B17s and B24s coming in
0:12:20 > 0:12:24over the countryside and landing here every evening.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32I'm noticing here the old control tower, and you can see out the flat land ahead of us here.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36It's a massive area. It must have been a massive operation at the time.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39The actual construction of it took two and a half years, I think.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44And there were hundreds of people employed, mostly labourers,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48from around Tyrone, Northern Ireland, even the South of Ireland,
0:12:48 > 0:12:51the West of Ireland. A lot of people came here to work.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54And how did it impact on the community here?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It was very good economically.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58For anybody that was able to work,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02it was a great opportunity of getting work after the 1930s,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05when there was very little money anywhere.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09And then after the war, when the Americans left, they left in what, 1944?
0:13:09 > 0:13:12The Americans left here in about September 1944, yes.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14And was it abandoned then?
0:13:14 > 0:13:20No, it was officially closed down at the end of the Second World War,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22late 1945.
0:13:22 > 0:13:28It was opened again in 1952 to train fighter pilots for the RAF.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33You've worked for years as a community leader here, if you like.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- Yeah.- What would YOU like to see happen here now for the future?
0:13:36 > 0:13:39In 1959, the land was sold back
0:13:39 > 0:13:44to the original owners - most of them took up that offer.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49But unfortunately, the roadways were not reinstated, the original roads.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55So although we're left with three pristine runways at that time, and a three-mile perimeter road,
0:13:55 > 0:14:01it didn't really link the two parts of the community together, and that is still missing today.
0:18:17 > 0:18:24# One night as I lay slumbering
0:18:24 > 0:18:28# In my silent bed alone
0:18:28 > 0:18:34# Some reckless thoughts came to head
0:18:34 > 0:18:38# And caused me for to roam
0:18:38 > 0:18:43# For to leave my native country
0:18:43 > 0:18:48# And the wee girl I adore
0:18:48 > 0:18:54# So I thought it fit for to take a trip
0:18:54 > 0:18:59# Strange lands for to explore
0:18:59 > 0:19:05# Now the night before I went away
0:19:05 > 0:19:09# I was walking up Brocagh Hill
0:19:09 > 0:19:14# When I met my darling upon the road
0:19:14 > 0:19:19# And her eyes with tears did fill
0:19:19 > 0:19:23# Stay you at home, dear John she said
0:19:23 > 0:19:28# And do not go away
0:19:28 > 0:19:35# For I'll have none to come court me
0:19:35 > 0:19:40# When you are on the sea
0:19:40 > 0:19:46# Now Brocagh Brae's a nice wee place
0:19:46 > 0:19:50# Where nice wee girls live in
0:19:50 > 0:19:56# You'd swear they were the nightingales
0:19:56 > 0:20:00# When they sit down to sing
0:20:00 > 0:20:04# Where salmon trout
0:20:04 > 0:20:06# All sport about
0:20:06 > 0:20:12# Round Lough Neagh's verdant shore
0:20:12 > 0:20:19# So let them all say as they will
0:20:19 > 0:20:27# You are mine for ever more. #
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- Peter.- Good to see you again. - Peter, how are you? - Had you a good run down?
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Grand run down, great.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53- Bit tired.- But you're here at last.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57- Peter, you're the only resident on this island. - I'm the only resident on Lough Neagh!
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Does being the only resident require any special qualities?
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Oh, it does. You have to have a special mindset, to begin with.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10During the summer, you'll have an average of 5,500 visitors here.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12But then come October to March, no-one.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15So you've got to be prepared for both extremes, you know.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18And how do you put your day in during the winter?
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Oh, I have plenty work to do during the day. As I say, I have my work,
0:23:22 > 0:23:26and at night, classical music and a good book. Keep your mind occupied,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28that's how you combat loneliness.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The work that you mention - what work do you do?
0:23:31 > 0:23:34Well, this time of year, the summertime, you'd be cutting grass
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and generally meeting and greeting people. But cutting the grass
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and keeping the place tidy, keeping the paths clear and that.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45But in the winter, you can do the groundwork, you can really get into doing drainage
0:23:45 > 0:23:49and digging holes that need to be... or filling UP holes sometimes.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53But generally protecting the island, cos storm damage can be pretty severe.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56And we had a wind blew through here recently,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00which took down quite a large tree there and another one just behind me.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01So that all has to be attended to.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05So that's my job now, to get the saw out and get stuck into that.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08One thing that would strike you about this island
0:24:08 > 0:24:11and around the lough is the history, it must just be steeped in it.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The history is tremendous. The earliest civilisations here
0:24:14 > 0:24:17would have been about 8000 BC. The Mesolith period.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And through all the periods of history, Coney Island has seen occupation.
0:24:21 > 0:24:26And of course, with each period of occupation, they've left their mark behind them.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29One of the most tangible bits of evidence of the early civilisations
0:24:29 > 0:24:32is the round tower here, built by the Normans
0:24:32 > 0:24:35at the end of the 12th century, beginning of the 13th century.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37A really stunning monument.
0:24:37 > 0:24:42This was as far west as they came, so they brought all their treasures with them to Coney Island.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45They dug a well and put the treasures in it to protect them.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50But history doesn't tell us what happened to the Normans,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53so we can only assume they intermingled with the local peoples, married and dispersed.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56What they did, they forgot about those treasures.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00And when the O'Neills were here, things were getting out of hand
0:25:00 > 0:25:02between the O'Connors and them in...1564.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07Lord Henry Sydney was sent here to control the O'Neills, who were stationed here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And he discovered the goods in the well.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Fished them out, took them back to England, became the wealthiest man in the British Isles, bought his way
0:25:15 > 0:25:20into the ministry and became the equivalent of Prime Minister. Lord Deputy Sherriff or somesuch.
0:25:20 > 0:25:26An extract from a letter he wrote to a friend - "I have so much gold plate on my sideboard, I fear I shall have
0:25:26 > 0:25:29"to engage a carpenter to construct me a new one."
0:25:29 > 0:25:32But he was a miserable old goat, and the place was falling down around him when he died.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37That's the Lord Sydney who tried to name Lough Neagh Lough Sydney.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Correct. Coney Island was known as Sydney's Island and Lough Neagh
0:25:40 > 0:25:42as Sydney's Lough. Among Anglos, not locals.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Did he leave any treasure behind? Is any still here?
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Well, there's a tree has grown
0:25:47 > 0:25:51over the well, and the tree is a beech tree - it's 118 years old.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54The lifespan of a beech is about 125 years.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56I retire in about nine years' time.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59That tree comes down, you'll not see me for dust. I'll be in there digging.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02He must have left a wee trinket there for me for my retirement.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06But I wouldn't think so, I would say he probably got it all.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09And would you trust us to spend a night on your island?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Well, I am doing. LAUGHTER
0:26:11 > 0:26:16- We'll not get up in the middle of the night. We'll not go near your tree.- You're very welcome indeed.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:09 > 0:28:13E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk