River Blackwater, Northern Ireland

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The River Blackwater (Irish: An Abhainn Mhór) is a river in County Armagh and County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, as well as County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, which has its source to the north of Fivemiletown, County Tyrone.

The river enters Lough Neagh west of Derrywarragh Island and is navigable from Maghery to Blackwatertown. The small Maghery Canal enters the Blackwater south of Derrywarragh Island. Nearby a small jetty area with a slipway, is the site of the former Maghery ferry. Approximately 4km from Maghery ferry is the entrance to the River Torrent and the Coalisland Canal. About 2.5km south of the Coalisland Canal entrance is the M1 bridge. Past the bridge is Verner’s Bridge, just south of which the small River Tall joins the Blackwater. Just under 2km south of Verner’s Bridge are the remains of the original piers of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) bridge on the line from Dungannon to Portadown. The river then becomes more enclosed with fairly steep banks to the east with more farms and houses. Bond’s Bridge is located just upstream, a bowstring bridge built in the 1890s. The River Rhone joins 200m beyond Bond’s Bridge. Just past it, on the east bank, is a large country house estate called the Argory, donated to the National Trust by the McKeogh Bond family. The Callan River joins the Blackwater 1.6km upstream. Further on, at a bend on the east bank, is the entrance to the first lock of the Ulster Canal. Just upstream, Charlemont Bridge joins the town of Charlemont on the east bank and Moy on the west.^[1]