Six Mile Water
Encyclopedia
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It was historically called the (river) Ollar and is known in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
as Abhainn na bhFiodh. The Six Mile Water is an indirect tributary of the River Bann
River Bann
The River Bann is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles . The river winds its way from the south east corner of Northern Ireland to the north west coast, pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh...
, via Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
. It rises in the hills west of Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
and north of Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus , known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,201 at the 2001 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king...
and descends gently westward, flowing through or close to the communities of Ballynure
Ballynure
Ballynure is a village near Ballyclare in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 677 people in the 2001 Census.The village is effectively split in two by the A8 main road, which runs from Belfast to Larne. A stream called the Ballynure Water runs through it and the houses are a...
, Ballyclare
Ballyclare
Ballyclare is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,770 people in the 2001 Census...
, Doagh
Doagh
Doagh is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is in the Six Mile Water Valley about two miles southwest of Ballyclare. It had a population of 1,130 people in the 2001 Census....
, Parkgate
Parkgate, County Antrim
Parkgate is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Donegore Hill, near the Six Mile Water. It is about mid-way between Ballyclare and Antrim town. It had a population of 646 people in the 2001 Census...
, Templepatrick
Templepatrick
Templepatrick is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast, and halfway between the towns of Ballyclare and Antrim. It had a population of 1,556 in the 2001 Census. It is also close to Belfast International Airport and the village has several hotels...
, Dunadry
Dunadry
Dunadry is a small village and townland near Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 237 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Borough of Antrim.-References:*...
and Antrim
Antrim, County Antrim
Antrim is a town in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Six Mile Water, half a mile north-east of Lough Neagh. It had a population of 20,001 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre of Antrim Borough Council...
into Lough Neagh. A weir exists at Ballyclare where water was diverted to the paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
. 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.
Name
While short, it is closer to 20 miles (32.2 km) long than six; accounts vary as to the origins of the name. The most widely accepted story is that NormanNormans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
soldiers marching from Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle
Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best...
calculated that they had marched six miles (10 km) when they forded the river at Ballyclare. When the Normans built the castle at Carrickfergus they placed a line of outposts along the river which was then called the Ollar (River of the Rushes). In time the soldiers making the journey from Carrickfergus to Antrim reached the river at this spot when they had travelled six miles (10 km) so began to call the Ollar the Six Mile Water.
Angling
The Six Mile Water is famous for its trout fishingTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
. It has brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and dollaghan
Dollaghan
Dollaghan are a variety of brown trout native to Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, and many of its tributaries. They are a potamodromous migratory trout spending much of the year in the lough, returning to the rivers in autumn to spawn...
. Salmon had virtually disappeared from the river by the early part of the 20th Century. Local anglers, concerned about the poor state of the river, formed the Antrim and District Angling Association in the late 1950s. They identified the main problems as pollution, habitat degradation through drainage works and obstructions, mainly weirs built in the 19th Century for water power to supply the numerous mills in the area. Regulations to control methods of fishing and number of fish caught, together with protection of the river from poaching and pollution enabled native brown trout and dollaghan numbers to improve substantially by the 1970s. By 2004 over 200 salmon were caught by anglers in that year. The run of salmon in 2004 into the river probably exceeded its Conservation Limit for the first time in over 100 years.
Culture
The river is the subject of the song Six Mile Water, by the Metal band Therapy?Therapy?
Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
. It appeared on their fifth full length album Suicide Pact - You First released in 1999.