Description of the river
The Ballinderry River valley lies in the heart of Northern Ireland, on the western shore of Lough Neagh, in an area known as Mid-Ulster.
From lough to lough
At 211 meters above sea level, the Ballinderry River rises in a small lough called Camlough, nestled between the peaks of Evishanoran and Craignagore Mountains, on the southern slopes of the Sperrin Mountain range.
Leaving Camlough the river begins a 47 kilometre long journey, flowing northward for a few kilometres before turning east towards Cookstown, Coagh and Ballinderry Bridge, before reaching its journeys end on the western shore of the mighty Lough Neagh.
This journey takes the waters of the Ballinderry through remote upland peat bog, wooded glens, basalt and sandstone gorges, bustling villages, sleepy hamlets and open grazing pastures.
Joining the Ballinderry River, along its course, are many small streams which carry water from the surrounding countryside, and a number of tributary rivers, such as the Lissan Water, the Ballymully River, the Rock River, the Claggan River and the Killymoon River; each significant rivers in their own right.
Together, these rivers and tributaries drain water from an area known as the Ballinderry River Catchment, which covers an area of over 450 square kilometres of Mid-Ulster.
What’s in a name?
The river gets its name from the townland of Ballinderry, near the mouth of the river.
Ballinderry, translated from the Gaelic Irish ‘Baile an Doire’ means ‘the place of the oak wood’; giving some indication of how the river landscape in the past, was very different from the open rural countryside we see today.
Many of the townlands in the river catchment hold clues to a bygone age, where nature held sway over the inhabitants of the valley. For example, in the Parish of Ardtrea, the townland of Ballynahone means ‘town where rivers rise’, in the Parish of Ballyclog, Curglassen means ‘round hill of the streamlets’, in the Parish of Donaghenry, Gortacloghan means ‘field of the stepping stones along the river’ and in the Parish of Kildress, the townland of Orritor, which means ‘a district lying along the river’, to name but a few.
A special river
From near its source to just above the town of Cookstown, the Ballinderry River has been given national and international special protection status because of the rare and special plants and animals which live in it; including plant communities of water-crowfoot Ranunculus sp., otter Lutra lutra and the globally endangered freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera.
The river is also home to the unique Dollaghan trout, which is found only in Lough Neagh and its feeder rivers; as well as river brown trout and Atlantic salmon. It is because of these fish that the Ballinderry is often referred to as one of the best angling rivers in Ulster.
A river at the heart of a community
Throughout the ages, the river has shaped, not just the landscape of the Ballinderry valley, but also the lives of the people who have lived and worked here. It was the backbone of Cookstown’s vibrant linen industry and has proved a constant source of inspiration for artists and authors, such a Jonathan Swift, the author of the popular children’s classic Gulliver’s Travels.
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