Larne (—the domain of a Viking chieftain) is a substantial seaport and industrial town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is now mostly used by freight. Larne is twinned with Clover, South Carolina.

Larne is administered by Larne Borough Council. Together with the neighbouring district of Carrickfergus and part of Newtownabbey, it forms the East Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.

History

During the 18th century many Irish emigrated to America from the port of Larne. A monument in Curran Park commemorates the Friends Goodwill, the first emigrant ship to sail from Larne in May 1717, heading for Boston in the United States. Boston's long standing Irish roots can be traced to Larne. As with western and southern Ireland Larne, unlike some areas of north–east (Antrim, Down, Louth and North Dublin) and eastern Ireland (South Dublin, Wicklow), was hugely affected by the Irish Famine of the mid 19th century.

In 1914, Loyalists opposed to the Home Rule Act 1914 prepared for armed resistance. In an episode known as the Larne Gun Running, German weapons and ammunition were transported into the port of Larne at dead of night, and distributed all over the country.^[1]

Transport

• Ferries sail from the harbour to destinations including Cairnryan and Troon in Scotland, and Fleetwood in England.

• Larne is connected to Belfast by the A8 road. The A2 road or 'Antrim coast road' which runs along the Antrim coast, and passes through the scenic Glens of Antrim, also serves the town. South of the town the A2 passes the side of Larne Lough, via Glynn, Magheramorne, and Ballycarry, to Whitehead and Carrickfergus. The A36 road runs from the town to Ballymena.

• A railway route to Belfast, via Whitehead and Carrickfergus, also connects Larne to the Northern Ireland Railways network. Currently there is no freight transport by rail in Northern Ireland. Both Larne Town railway station and Larne Harbour railway station opened on 1 October 1862 and closed for goods traffic on 4 January 1965.^[2]

• The Ballymena and Larne Railway was a narrow gauge railway. It opened in 1878, was closed to passengers in 1933 and finally completely closed in 1950.

People

• Author and poet Amanda McKittrick Ros, who has been described by critics as "The world's best bad writer", taught at Millbrook National School, Larne in the 1880s.
• Coventry City footballer Michael Hughes, DJ Fergie, Popstars: The Rivals star Keith Semple (who was a member of One True Voice) and X-Factor finalist Phillip Magee have all put the town on the map in recent years.

Larne harbour

• Rock band Therapy?, original lineup featured two members from Larne - Fife Ewing & Michael Mekeegan. Mekeegan is still with the band.
• Hugh Nelson (1830-1893) was a Canadian parliamentarian and Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. He was born in Larne, the son of Robert Nelson and Frances Quinn, and emigrated to California in 1854 and then to British Columbia in 1858.
• Henry McNeill who was the pioneer of tourism in Ireland had his hotel in Larne (McNeill's Hotel). He also owned Garron Tower (Which he made into a hotel - now it is a school) The hotel has now been demolished, and now is a retirement community.
• Independent Catholic priest Father Pat Buckley runs his parish in Larne.
• Dave Clements, footballer and football manager (b.1945, Larne).
• Eddie Mooney of British Invasion / Merseybeat band The Dakotas grew up in Larne.
• Sheffield United and Northern Ireland midfielder Keith Gillespie was born in Larne.
• Veteran loyalist politician Jack McKee

Sport

• Larne F.C.
• Latharna Óg G.A.A Club

Industry

• FG Wilson Ltd., Generator Manufacturer
• Ivex Ltd., Manufacturer of pharmaceutical, medical device and veterinary devices
• InspecVision Ltd., Industrial Inspection Equipment

2001 Census

Larne is classified as a Large Town by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)^[3] (i.e. with population between 18,000 and 75,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 18,228 people living in Larne. Of these:

• 20.9% were aged under 16 years and 21.2% were aged 60 and over
• 48.2% of the population were male and 51.8% were female
• 26.2% were from a Catholic background and 70.7% were from a Protestant background.
• 4.3% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Larne Harbour Police

Larne Harbour Police is a very small (approximately seven officers^[4]), specialised police force responsible for policing Larne Harbour. The officers of the force are sworn in as special constables under the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847, and are responsible to Larne Harbour Ltd. Jurisdiction of the constables of this very small specialised port police extends to one mile beyond the Harbour Complex.^[5]

Footnotes

See also

• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of RNLI stations
• Larne Gun Running

References

• Larne on the ''Culture Northern Ireland'' website.

External links

• Larne Town
• The Basement, buy/sell/trade/rent
• A history of the Port of Larne
• Larne Ferry Web
• Larne R.F.C.
• First Larne Presbyterian Church
• Chaine FM, Larne's radio station
• Larne in WW1 on the NET
• Larne on the NET

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