The river was effectively created when
Edward Southwell (1705–1755) landlord of Downpatrick built a tidal barrier at the Quoile and began draining the land, creating 500 acres of land from what was previously the western branch of
Strangford Lough. The name comes from the narrowest point of the estuary at Finnebrogue, where a ford and ferry existed before the construction of the bridge. Harris, in 1744, mistakenly writes that the name of the bridge should be Coyne (after the branch of Loch Cuan up stream) not Coyle because he overlooked the origin.-->
Inch Abbey On the north bank of the river, 0.75 miles (1.2 km) north-west of Downpatrick, the
Inch Abbey site was originally on an island () in the Quoile Marshes. The pre-
Norman Celtic monastic settlement here, known as
Inis Cumhscraigh (or
Inis Cuscraidh), was in existence by the year 800. In 1002 it was plundered by the
Vikings led by Sitric, King of the Danes, who came up the Quoile with a fleet from the sea. The Vikings plundered the settlement again in 1149.
Steam-Boat Quay In September 1837, the County Down and Liverpool Steam-Boat Company commenced regular sailings of their
steam packet Victoria between a quay on the Quoile and
Liverpool. However, the tides of Strangford Lough made time-keeping difficult and there was insufficient low-volume, high-value trade suitable for a steam-boat route. The company folded in 1839 and their ship was sold off. The iron steamship
Robert Burns, 120
gross tons, built in 1857 on the
Clyde, provided a regular cargo service from the Quoile to northern English ports for 17 years from 1866. The main export was agricultural produce and coal the main import. ==Quoile Pondage Nature Reserve==