Bealach Cláir

Bealach Cláir (Ballyclare) derives from 'bealach' (way/pass) and 'clár' (plank bridge or plain), referring to a significant crossing point. The area shows evidence of continuous settlement for millennia, with flint arrowheads found during mid-twentieth-century construction suggesting a trading settlement near the river crossing around 4000 BC. During the Anglo-Norman conquest of 1177, John de C...