It lies across the mouth of Sligo Harbour, between Rosses Point and the Coolera Peninsula, and can be reached from the latter via a tidal causeway.

The island now has only one family of permanent inhabitants (traceable back to the 1750s) but has many other temporary residents, especially in the summer months.

[8] Coney Island is accessible by boat from Rosses Point, or by driving or walking over the causeway, two and a half kilometres across Cummeen Strand, guided by 14 pillars, at low tide.

The bollards were constructed in the mid-1800s, lining up with the Black Rock lighthouse, to aid in night time travel across the bay.

A spate of drowning tragedies in the 1800s, including that of the then owner of the island, William Dorrin, in 1823, prompted the construction of the bollards.