Braid River

The Braid River, near Ballymena

The Braid River (Irish: Abhainn na Brád)[1] is a river in the borough of Mid and East Antrim, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is a tributary to the River Main.[2] Historically, the valley in which the river flows divided the boundaries between the parishes of Skerry and Rathcavan in the 19th century.[3]

Flowing in a south-easterly direction for the entirety of its course, the river rises in the Antrim Hills and follows the A42 road through Broughshane to Ballygarvey; it then flows through Ballymena before flowing into the River Main near the Tullaghgarley townland.[4]

On 10 February 2018, a five-year-old boy died after falling into the river and being swept four miles downstream.[5] He died in hospital.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Abhainn na Brád/Braid River". logainm.ie. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  2. ^ Ó Nualláin, Seán (1983). "Irish Portal Tombs: Topography, Siting and Distribution". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 113. Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland: 80. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ^ Reeves, William (1847). Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore, consisting of a Taxation of those Dioceses. Hodges and Smith. p. 345. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. ^ Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (December 2017). Larne and Ballymena (Map). 1:50,000. Discoverer Series. Land and Property Services. ISBN 9781905306923.
  5. ^ "Five-year-old boy dies after falling in river in Ballymena". BBC News. 10 February 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  6. ^ McGonagle, Suzanne (20 February 2018). "Drowning victim's twin says they had gone to 'see the ducks'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Police appeal over Kayden Fleck final movements - death 'not suspicious'". Belfast Telegraph. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2022.