It is mostly within the townland of Shanemullagh (from Irish an Seanmhullach 'the old hilltop', IPA:[ˈanˠˈʃanˠˌwʊl̪ˠəx]),[1] about four miles from the north-western shore of Lough Neagh, and near the market town of Magherafelt.

[4] On 29 June 1912, a large group of Ancient Order of Hibernians members, allegedly drunk after having held a parade, clashed with a party of Presbyterian Sunday School children in Castledawson, who were returning from their annual excursion, in what became known as the Castledawson Incident.

Today it is the home of the award-winning Ditty's Bakery and Moyola Precision Engineering, a noted innovator of aerospace components.

The River Moyola is popular with anglers and has managed stocks of salmon (but also has perch, eel, trout, bream and pike).

This section is currently being dualled, marking the end of a 47-year wait for the high-quality bypass it was promised, all those decades ago.