Sitting within it, small and largely overlooked, is Stony Island, one of several islands scattered across the lough that have attracted human attention across the centuries, though the details of what survives there remain frustratingly sparse.

Lough Carra has long been associated with archaeology and literary history alike. The surrounding landscape contains the ruins of Moore Hall, home of the novelist George Moore, and the lough itself is dotted with crannogs, artificial or modified islands built in timber and stone that were used as defensible dwelling places from the Bronze Age through to the early medieval period. Whether Stony Island itself represents a natural feature, a crannog, or something else entirely is not yet clearly documented in the public record. What is known is that the island has been flagged as archaeologically significant, placing it in the company of sites across Lough Carra that speak to long, layered human occupation of this corner of Mayo.