The name comes from
Mac Aodha (Magee) a prominent Irish family in the area. An earlier Irish name was
Rinn Seimhne (peninsula of (the district of)
Seimhne) from an original tribal name. the true figure is now thought to have been two dozen. This is alleged to be the first massacre to take place during the rebellion and the
War of the Three Kingdoms. In 1711, the
Islandmagee witch trial resulted in eight women being convicted of
witchcraft and sentenced to a year's imprisonment. The last such trial to take place in Ireland, it is hoped to include these in a new historical tour. A local councillor objected it would be a 'shrine to paganism'. Others have said it should go ahead. One historian citing "It's a dark event in our history - but it happened. People are fascinated by what happened at the Islandmagee witch trials, and the council could get a lot more tourism value from their interest".
Archaeology • Islandmagee is the home of the
Ballylumford Dolmen. Known locally as the "Druid's Altar", this megalithic monument could date to 2500 BC (The Early Bronze Age), or be the remains of an earlier Neolithic simple passage tomb dating to c. 4000 BC. It consists of four upright stones, with a heavy capstone and a fallenstone within the structure. The fallenstone may have been put there to block the entrance to the tomb. •
Neolithic houses have been excavated at
Ballyharry, on the Islandmagee peninsula. Finds included Neolithic pottery, flint arrowheads, javelin heads, polished stone axe fragments and
quernstones. • Dinosaur remains were found in the area in the 19th century and in the 20th century. These were the first find of dinosaur fossil bones ever found in Ireland. ==Gas storage project==