Belfast was founded at a sandy
ford across the Farset, and this is the origin of the city's name –
Béal Feirste, the "river mouth of the sandbar".
Farset itself is derived from the Irish word for "sandbar". The river flowed beside docks on High Street as Belfast grew in the 19th century. Over the course of the 18th century it was gradually covered over; the final section, close to Princes Street, was culverted in 1804. ==See also==