Six Mile Water
The Six Mile Water is a river in southern County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is an indirect tributary of the River Bann, via Lough Neagh.
Name
The river was historically called the Ollarbha and is known in Irish as Abhainn na bhFiodh[1] ("river of the woods"), which was formerly anglicized 'Owenaview'.[2]
Accounts vary as to the origin of the name. The river is almost 26 miles (42 km) long rather than six.
Course and catchment
It rises in the hills west of Larne and north of Carrickfergus and descends gently westward, flowing through or close to the communities of Ballynure, Ballyclare, Doagh, Parkgate, Templepatrick, Dunadry and Antrim into Lough Neagh. A weir exists at Ballyclare where water was diverted to the paper mill. The Six Mile Water Park was constructed around the river in Ballyclare, in order that the river's frequent floods would not affect houses in the area. It has a catchment of 117 square miles.[5]
Culture
The river is the subject of the song Six Mile Water, by the Metal band
See also
- List of rivers of Northern Ireland
References
- ^ "Placenames Database of Ireland". Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- ^ a b "Six Mile Water, Co Antrim". Northern Ireland Place-Name Project.
- ^ Ordnance Survey of Ireland: Rivers and their Catchment Basins 1958 (Table of Reference)
- ^ "History of the area". Antrim and District Angling Association. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
- ^ "The Six Mile water". Antrim and District Angling Association. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2009.