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.