The River Bann (Irish: an Bhanna, likely from an bhan-abha, meaning "the white river"[1]) is the longest river in Northern Ireland, the total length being 80 miles (129 km). The river winds its way from the south east corner of Northern Ireland[2] to the north west coast,[3] pausing in the middle to widen into the enormous Lough Neagh. According to C.Michael Hogan, the Bann River Valley is a settlement area for some of the first human arrivals in Ireland after the most recent glacial retreat.[4] The river has played an important part in the industrialisation of the north of Ireland, especially in the linen industry. Today salmon and eel fisheries are the most important economic features of the river. The river is often used as a dividing line between the eastern and western areas of Northern Ireland, often labelled the "Bann divide". Towns, councils and businesses "west of the Bann" are often seen as having less investment and government spending than those to the east.[5] It is also seen as a religious, economic and political divide, with Catholics, Nationalists and Republicans being in the majority to the west, and Protestants and Unionists in the majority to the east; and with the financial and industrial capital of Greater Belfast to the east with the west of the Bann having been more largely agricultural and rural.[6][7]
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The Upper Bann rises in the Mourne Mountains in County Down and flows into Lough Neagh at Bannfoot, County Armagh. This stretch is one of the most popular coarse fishing rivers in Europe. Near Portadown it connects with the now disused Newry Canal, which once gave access south to the Irish Sea.
The Lower Bann flows from Lough Neagh at Toome to the Atlantic Ocean at Portstewart. The river is a canalised waterway with five locks (Toome, Portna, Movanagher, Carnroe and Castleroe) along its 38 miles (51 km). The river is very popular with water sports enthusiasts, anglers and cruisers and has minimal commercial traffic. It acts as most of the border between County Antrim and County Londonderry. The only commercial port on the river is at Coleraine. Ships from Londonderry Port and the Port of Belfast transfer coal and scrap metal.
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