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Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, (/ˌlɒx ˈneɪ/) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. It is the biggest lake in Northern Ireland, supplying 40% of its water; the biggest in Ireland, and the biggest in the British Isles. Its name comes from Irish: Loch nEachach, meaning "Lake of Eachaidh", although today it is usually spelt Loch nEathach (Irish: [ɫ̪ɔx ˈn̠ʲahax]).

Magherafelt (from Irish: Machaire Fíolta, meaning "plain of Fíolta") is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 at the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area. Magherafelt District Council is headquartered in the town.

County Londonderry or County Derry is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,074 km², with a population of approximately 247,132. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, lying within the historical province of Ulster.

Since 1981, it has become one of four counties in Northern Ireland that has a Catholic majority (55.56% according to the 2001 Census), with 57% of the Catholic population residing within Derry City Council.

The highest point in the county is the summit of Sawel Mountain (678 m) on the border with County Tyrone. Sawel is part of the Sperrin Mountains, which dominate the southern part of the county. To the east and west, the land falls into the valleys of the Bann and Foyle rivers respectively; in the south-east, the county touches the shore of Lough Neagh, which is the largest lake in Ireland; the north of the county is distinguished by the steep cliffs, dune systems, and remarkable beaches of the Atlantic coast.

The county is home to a number of important buildings and landscapes, including the well-preserved 17th-century city walls of Derry; the National Trust-owned Plantation estate at Springhill; Mussenden Temple with its spectacular views of the Atlantic; the dikes, artificial coastlines and the noted bird sanctuaries on the eastern shore of Lough Foyle; and the visitor centre at Bellaghy Bawn, close to the childhood home of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney. In the centre of the county are the old-growth deciduous forests at Banagher and Ness Wood, where the Burntollet River flows over the highest waterfalls in Northern Ireland.