4 Guide to Belfast. 



name (Bel or Beal, a ?nouth, a ford, an entrance, and 

 Fearsad, a sandbank). 



The River Lagan. — According to O'Donovan the Irish 

 word lA^An signifies a hollow or narrow district between 

 hills or mountains. The river takes its rise in SLiebh 

 C]\oob (Slieve Croob), in the heart of County Down ; its 

 course beyond the city is now mainly a canal, and passes 

 through some most charming scenery. It is a favourite 

 haunt of artists and lovers of nature, the tow-path 

 affording a delightful walk for many miles amid picturesque 



SCENE ON THE KIVER I AGAN. 



surroundings. The Lagan is a stream of no considerable 

 size, but, with the deepening of the channel and the 

 creation of the harbour, it has been utilized as a water-way 

 into the interior of the country. The inland trade by 

 water is carried on by the L.'^gan Navigation Company, 

 which connects the Harbour of Belfast with Lough 

 Neagh, and by the Ulster Canal, which connects 

 Lough Neagh with the Upper and Lower Lough Erne. 

 Four bridges now span the river in its course through the 

 city. From the Queen's Bridge, which joins the city proper 

 with its populous suburb, Bali ymacarrett (Bally MacArt), 

 the town of MacArt [O'Neill] ), there is a quay of two 



