The River Farset runs in a tunnel beneath Belfast’s High Street, an unseen watercourse whose former path can still be read in the shape of the street. Its name also appears in the explanation of Béal Feirste, linking the city’s identity to the river and its mouth.

Course Beneath High Street

As Michael Agnew and Cushla Lavery cross the River Lagan and approach High Street, Michael tells her that another river runs beneath the street. The Farset now flows through a tunnel under the road, concealed from ordinary view. Michael points to the street’s breadth and curve as signs that it follows the river’s course: the landscape retains a trace of water even where the water itself is hidden.

Name and Urban Memory

Michael explains Béal Feirste as “the mouth of the Farset,” connecting the city’s Irish name with the river. He also recalls having a drawing from 1830 showing people in frock coats on the quays and a sailing boat docked beside them. The drawing evokes an earlier riverside city; set beside his account of the buried Farset, it makes the present street legible as a place shaped by a watercourse and by an urban past that is no longer immediately visible.