| Larne | |
|---|---|
 2020 view looking south-east towards Larne Harbour,Islandmagee, and down the length ofLarne Lough | |
 Larne Coat of Arms | |
  Larne Location withinNorthern Ireland | |
| Population | 18,853 (2021 census) |
| Irish grid reference | D4102 |
| • Belfast | 30 km (19 mi) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LARNE |
| Postcode district | BT40 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
| |
Larne (fromIrishLatharna,pronounced[ˈl̪ˠahəɾˠn̪ˠə], the name of aGaelic territory)[1][2][3] is a town on the east coast ofCounty Antrim,Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,853 at the2021 census.[4] It is a major passenger and freightroll-on roll-off port.[5] Larne is within theMid and East Antrim Borough Council area. Together with parts of the neighbouring districts ofAntrim and Newtownabbey andCauseway Coast and Glens, it forms theEast Antrim constituency for elections to theWestminster Parliament andNorthern Ireland Assembly. The civil parish is in the historicbarony ofGlenarm Upper.[6]
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The coastal area around Larne has been inhabited for millennia, and is thought to have been one of the earliest inhabited areas of Ireland, with these early human populations believed to have arrived from Scotland via theNorth Channel.Knockdhu, north of Larne, was the site of aBronze Agepromontory fort and settlement. The early coastal dwellers are thought to have had a sophisticated culture which involved trading between the shores of the North Channel and between other settlements on the coasts of Scotland. The coast of Scotland is in fact clearly visible from here. Archaeological digs in the area have foundflintwork and other artefacts which have been assigned dates from 6000 BC onwards. The termLarnian has even been coined by archaeologists to describe such flintworks and similar artefacts of theMesolithic era (and one time to describe Mesolithic culture in Ireland as a whole).[7][8][9] Larnian is also currently used to refer to people from Larne.
From Magheramorne'sComgall (b. circa 516 AD), a prominent missionary of the early Celtic Church, to the hereditaryÓ Gnímh bards in the Kilwaughter area in the late middle ages, Larne was a land of saints and scholars in the truest sense.
Larne in the Early Middle Ages
Larne takes its name fromLatharna, aGaelic territory ortúath that was part of theUlaidpetty kingdom ofDál nAraidi.[10] The name spelt asLatharne was used at one point in reference to the Anglo-Normancantred ofCarrickfergus.[10]Latharna itself means "descendants ofLathar", with Lathar according to legend being a son of the pre-Christian kingÚgaine Mór.[11] The town sprang up where the River Inver flows into Larne Lough. This area was known in Irish asInbhear an Latharna ("rivermouth/estuary of Latharna")[12] and was later anglicised asInver Larne or simplyInver.Latharna was only applied exclusively to the town in recent centuries. TheRoman emperorSeverus is known to have described how, in 204 AD, a Roman galley bound for Scotland veered off course to a place called Portus Saxa, which was believed to beLarne Lough.There wasViking activity in the area during the 10th and 11th centuries AD. Viking burial sites and artefacts have been found in the area and dated to that time.[13]Ulfreksfjord was anOld Norse name for Larne Lough. According to the Norse historianSnorri Sturluson, Connor, King of Ireland, defeatedOrkney Vikings atUlfreksfjord in 1018. Later anglicised names includeWulfrichford,Wolderfirth,Wolverflete and the surviving nameOlderfleet. The ending-fleet comes from the Norsefljot, meaning "inlet".[14]Older- may come from the Norseoldu, meaning "wave".[14] The townmotto isFalce Marique Potens (Latin for "Powerful with thesickle and on the sea").[15]
Larne in the High to Late Middle Ages
During the 12th and 13th centuries, Larne sat on a shifting frontier of Gaelic, Norse‑Gaelic and Anglo‑Norman influence. Following the temporary expulsion of Hugh de Lacy from Ulster in 1205, grants were made to members of the Galloway family, including Duncan FitzGilbert/de Galloway (d. 1250), who was given Wulricheford(Ulrichfiord — Larne Lough), Iverthe (Inver in Larne parish) and Glinarne (Glenarm).[16] In 1224 Duncan 'of Carrick' complained that Hugh de Lacy had seized the land of ‘Balgeithelauche’ — likely Ballygally.
In the parish of Kilwaughter, a fort held by the Anglo-Norman Adam Bisset was burned in 1282. The Bissets were associates of De Lacy and intermarried with the Fitzgilbert (Galloway) family. The Bisset clan was still ruling the Glynns area until at least 1522. The old tower at Ballygally Head was probably under Bisset control.[17]
In 1272 Henry de Mandeville was a tenant of Adam Bisset in Craiganboy on the south side of the Glynn. De Mandeville then went on to claim the townland as his own. There was subsequently a dispute over land at Kilwaughter between the de Mandevilles and Fitzwarins.
In 1245, the townland of Greenland was associated with the Pe de Lu family. The Earl of Ulster also leased Drumalis to Nicholas Pedelowe in 1333: the land comprised three carcucates, a mill and a court.[16] A mill at Kilwaughter was also owned by the Earl of Ulster.
Ecclesiastical parishes were set up in Larne after 1210. Killyglen parish was in existence in the mid-13th century, its rectory granted to Muckamore Abbey by Isaac, bishop of Connor between 1245 and 1256. The parish of Ballyhampton was listed in 1306–07.[16] There may have been some strategic reason why Ballyhampton fell under the bishop's land, as it was unusually small for a parish. Neighbouring Killyglen, Larne and Carncastle were secular estates.
John Bissett junior at the time of his death in 1259 held part of the land in Carncastle: Dronach (Droagh), Villa trium fontium (Ballyytober), Milltown, Villa Hacket (Ballyhacket), Carlcastel (Carncastle) and Carkemechan (Corkermain). Hugh de Lacy had kept the southern part of Duncan of Galloway's land to himself after he disseized him around 1227.[16]
In 1333, the lands of the earl of Ulster 'within the county of Carrickfergus' included Dunmalys / Drumalis, the main settlement.[16]
Killyglen may have been set up as a manor and parish in the same period.[16]
In 1315,Edward the Bruce of Scotland, brother ofRobert the Bruce, King of Scotland, landed at Larne with his 6000 strong army —Olderfleet Castle was of strategic importance. Edward saw Ireland as another front in the ongoing war against Norman England.
The name Bissett was associated with Larne until at least 1532. Gerald Missett (Bisset) was the last provost at Inver Monastry, which housed friars of the 3rd Order of St. Francis.[18] King Henry VIII seized Inver house in 1532, and according to an inquisition document from 1605, the remaining friars died at Olderfleet on 1 Nov 1602. The crown also seized church lands at Ballyshagg (Ballysnod), Barnudod (Browndod), Garrimore (Gardenmore) & Ballygrenlawy (Greenland).[18] Ballyhampton, near Kilwaughter, was an independent parish in this period. Likewise, there were ecclesiastical centres at Glynn and Killyglen. The parishes of Inverbeg and Invermore combined in the 1600s —Inverbeg parish covered Antiville, Ballyboley and Ballycraigy.[18]
Bisset influence in Larne continued through the Antrim MacDonnells, descendents ofMargery Bissett, who married Eoín MacDonnell in 1399.
Larne in the 1600s
In 1569,Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Ireland, appointedSir Moyses Hill as the governor of Olderfleet Castle. It was seen as strategically important for anyTudor conquest of Ulster. The area around County Antrim was not part of the official 17th century Plantation. Many Scottish settlers arrived in the area through private settlement.
In the 1600s, much of the land around Larne was owned by variousAgnew families, including landowners, hereditary poets and hereditary sheriffs, who had received land fromRandal MacDonnell. Larne was a melting pot of language at that time, with Irish, Scots and English co-existing. From the late 1500s until around 1700, theÓ Gnímh poets (often Anglicised Agnew, Ogneeve, Ognive and Ogneiff) were patronised by the MacDonnell and O’Neill dynasties. Their prominence is attested by land grants in Kilwaughter parish, including the townlands of Lisnadrumbard, Mullachboy (Rory's Glen) and Tobbermore (Rory's Glen), which were granted to members of the bardic line in the 1620s by Randal MacDonnell.[19] The written work of the Agnewbards of Kilwaughter is still important to scholars of Irish. The original manuscripts are held in Trinity College, Dublin.
Around 1613, the Agnews of Lochnaw, near Stranraer, were also given land in Larne, Inver and Kilwaughter by Randal MacDonnell. TheLochnaw Agnews held the sheriffship of Wigtownshire and the office of constable, their office continuing until its abolition in 1747. A collection of townlands in Kilwaughter and Millbrook is still known as Sheriff's Land today.[20][19][21]
Several authors have explored the idea that the bards and sheriffs were connected through MacDonnell clan kinship, but the research is inconclusive.[20][19][21][22][23] One of the Agnew families ownedKilwaughter Castle and became major landowners in County Antrim. The castle was originally built around 1622 as a fortified house. It sits in ruins today.[24][25]
Eighteenth-Century Larne
During the eighteenth-century many Scotch-Irish people emigrated to America from the port of Larne. A monument in the Curran Park commemorates theFriends Goodwill, the first emigrant ship to sail from Larne in May 1717, heading for Boston, Massachusetts in theNew England region of the modern United States of America. Boston's long standingScots-Irish roots can be traced to Larne.
Larne was also the first town in county Antrim to be taken by United Irishmen during therebellion of 1798. The Protestant rebels from this area (almost entirely Presbyterian) filled Larne and engaged the government forces around 2am on the morning of 7 June. This surprise attack drove the garrison to flee the town, at which point the rebel force marched off to join up withMcCracken and fight in theBattle of Antrm.[26] The events were recorded by Larne authorJames McHenry.
Nineteenth-Century Larne
In the 1860s and 1870s, Antrim industrialist James Chaine purchased the harbour, rebuilt piers and quays and established the short sea crossing to Scotland, thereby transforming the port’s fortunes. The regular steamboat service between Larne and Stranraer commenced on 1 July 1872.
The town diversified into leisure-driven tourism under tourism pioneer and hotelier Henry McNeill, who promoted Larne’s coastal scenery and hotel accommodation to visitors from Belfast and beyond. The combined growth of ship-yards, harbour infrastructure and visitor industry laid the foundations for Larne’s emergence as a key industrial-maritime and holiday hub in the early twentieth-century.[18]
Twentieth-Century Larne
Larne had mixed fortunes in the twentieth-century. Global events, such as the First World War and subsequent economic depression of the 1930s, were hard on working class people, but after the Second World War, Larne witnessed significant development, with road widening, the addition of a flyover carriageway to the harbour, the clearance of 'slum dwellings', and the creation of large housing estates, such as Antiville and Craigyhill. There were ups and downs within industry, the G.E.C. on the Old Glenarm Road closing and then re-emerging as F.G. Wilsons (subsequently Caterpillar). Textiles declined and pharmaceuticals emerged.
The addition of a larger power station at Ballylumford increased the industrial appearance of the town, as did the addition of three high-rise flats in the Riverdale area in the 1960s, but the Antrim Coast Road and eighty per cent of the wider countryside remain areas of outstanding natural beauty. Larne's role as a tourism hub, however, diminished in the face of such transformation. There were also changes as people looked abroad. A blow to tourism came with the IRA bombing of the King's Arms Hotel in 1980.
Twenty-first-Century Larne
Renewed confidence after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement gave the town a boost. While Larne's population has been fairly static, new housing developments have grown in scale, taking more of the old countryside townlands, like Ballyhampton. The vistas of countryside and sea and wide participation in sport, community groups and the arts mean that Larne remains a thriving town. The neglected sites associated with the McNeill Hotel and Laharna Hotel have been redeveloped and many independent shops are still thriving, but poor planning laws have meant dire consequences in the Point Street/ Dunluce Street area. Improvements have been made, however, with the addition of larger shopping precincts at the heart of residential areas. Larne Football Club also benefitted from an investment byPurple Bricks. There are continual calls for regeneration.[27]
One of the Larne towns assets is the Town Parks area, right at the heart of the town. In the midst of this public park is Drumalis, a tranquil private estate. Unlike other historic houses in the area, it has been protected from destruction. Drumalis was purchased by the Sisters of Cross and Passion in 1930, who have taken excellent care of the estate since that time. Drumalis reflects all the various identity threads of Larne's story. As a convent, it catered for the Catholic women of the diocese. Today it is open to men and women of all faiths. A modern conference and residential facility was added to this end in 2007-2008.
The land of Drumalis was once associated with the Anglo-Norman Pedelowe family. The hill of Drumalis was occupied by a Premonstratensian Friary in the middle ages. The current house on the site was built by Sir Hugh Smiley in 1872 and sold by Lady Elizabeth Smiley in 1927. B+ listed, it is exemplary of Victorian landscaping and architecture. The house features inlaid woodwork and stained glass designed by George Henry Walton. The gardens offer impressive views over the harbour.
Drumalis was implicated in the Home Rule crisis in 1914, when opponents prepared for armed resistance. In an episode known as theLarne Gun Running German, Austrian and Italian weapons and ammunition were transported into the ports of Larne and Bangor during the night and distributed throughout Ulster.[28] This event marked a major step in cementing the right toUlster Unionistself-determination, ultimately leading to the creation ofNorthern Ireland.
Irish dancing occupies an important place in the Larne's cultural heritage. Larne added Irish folk dancing to its musical festival syllabus in 1928, laying the foundations of a cross-community activity which was embraced by Catholic and Protestant families alike, even during some of the most violent years of 'The Troubles.' One of the pioneers of Irish dancing in the town was Marjorie Gardiner (née Andrews), who ran the Andrews School of Irish Dancing at the Town Hall and became a founding member of the Festival Dance Teacher's Association. A pupil of Peadar O’Rafferty and Stella Mulholland in the early 1930s, she went on to set up her own school in 1936 and taught for more than sixty years, establishing a long lineage through teachers like Moira Metson, Nancy Hooper, Margaret McAllister and Bridie Kemp. By the 1970s, the Larne festival, hosted in the McNeill Hall, welcomed 2,400 dancers, making it one of the most important Irish dancing events in Northern Ireland. Through the efforts of today's dancing teachers, the festival tradition in Larne has been preserved. In 2018 the festival celebrated 90 years of Irish dancing in the town. By the 2010s, several schools had departed from thefestival tradition and embraced thefeis tradition.[29]
While much of the population of Larne lived in non-segregated housing developments and mixed socially, Larne, a predominantly Unionist town, was not untouched by the conflict. There was a paramilitary presence duringThe Troubles, mostly through theUlster Volunteer Force (UVF) andUlster Defence Association (UDA). The town suffered a number ofProvisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb attacks, notably a large car bomb at the King's Arms hotel in 1980 that caused damage to the main shopping area.[30] This incident was raised in Parliament at the time.[31]
Incidents that involved fatalities
Larne sits on the western side of a narrow inlet that linksLarne Lough to the sea. On the eastern side of the inlet is apeninsula calledIslandmagee. To the west of Larne is the ancient volcanic formation ofAntrim Plateau, with its glaciated valleys scenically sweeping down to the sea to the north of Larne in what are known as theGlens of Antrim. Larne is 25 miles from the Scottish mainland, with views across theNorth Channel towards theMull of Kintyre,Rhins of Galloway,Islay andPaps of Jura often visible from the Larne area – this proximity toScotland has had a defining influence on Larne's history and culture.
The town is within the smallparish of the same name. Like the rest of Ireland, this parish is divided intotownlands. The following is a list of townlands within Larne's urban area, along with their likelyetymologies:[41]
Many street names in Larne end inbrae, such as 'Whitla's Brae' which comes from the Scots for 'hillside'.
The civil parish contains the following townlands:[6]Antiville,Ballyboley, Ballycraigy,Ballyloran,Blackcave North,Blackcave South,Curran and Drumaliss,Glebe,Greenland andTown Parks.
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Larne's three most famous landmarks are the Chaine Memorial Tower, the Maiden islands and the Black Arch on the Antrim Coast Road. The town also has several parks, including Town Park, Chaine Park, Curran Park, and Smiley Park.[42] Other leisure facilities include Larne Leisure Centre[43] and Larne Museum & Arts Centre.[44] Cairndhu Golf Course is situated atop ofBallygally Head[45] and Larne Golf Course is inIslandmagee.[46]
Significant buildings and structures include the Carnegie Arts Centre, situated on Victoria Road; St. Cedma's Church at Inver, which dates back to at least the 1300s; the ruins of Kilwaughter Castle, which was built around 1622; the Shaw's tower house at Ballygally Castle Hotel; andOlderfleet Castle.[47] The town also has several fine examples of Victorian and Edwardian villas, situated on the Glenarm Road, the upper Roddens and the Upper and Lower Cairncastle Road. Church buildings of note include the Larne & Kilwaughter Church on the Lower Cairncastle Road; the Presbyterian Church on the Victoria Road and the St. Macnissis Catholic Church on Agnew Street. Modern ecclesiastical buildings of architectural interest are the Mission Hall on the Old Glenarm Road and St. Antony's Catholic Church on the Upper Cairncastle Road.
Magheramorne, 5 miles to the south alongLarne Lough,[48] has a film studio which was used to film much ofHBO TV SeriesGame of Thrones.[49]
Recommended walking routes:
Lesser Spotted Larne Town
On census day (21 March 2021) there were 18,853 people living in Larne.[4] Of these:
On census day (27 March 2011) there were 18,755 people living in Larne, accounting for 1.04% of the NI total.[57][58] Of these:
Ballylumford power station in Northern Ireland's main power station. Other energy operators in Larne include B9 Energy (a renewable energy development company).[59]
Larne is also home to the headquarters of Caterpillar (NI) Limited (part of theCaterpillar group which manufactures diesel and gas generators),[60]InspecVision (industrial inspection equipment),[citation needed] TerumoBCT (a Japanese manufacturer of intravenous drip solutions and blood products),[61] and the LEDCOM (Larne Enterprise Development Company) business park.[62]
A number of shops can be found along Larne Main Street, Dunluce Street, Laharna Retail Park, and large supermarkets off the Harbour Highway near the harbour. A market is also held every Wednesday at the Larne Market Yard.[63]
Ferries sail from the harbour toCairnryan in Scotland. Passenger services are operated by P&O Irish Sea which describes the crossings from Larne to Scotland as "the shortest, fastest crossings" due to the close proximity that Larne has to Scotland. AnIrish Sea Bridge has been proposed, connecting Larne with Portpatrick in Scotland.[citation needed]
Larne is connected toBelfast by theA8 road. TheA2 road or 'Antrim coast road' which runs along the Antrim coast, and passes through the scenicGlens of Antrim, also serves the town. South of the town the A2 passes the side ofLarne Lough, viaGlynn,Magheramorne, andBallycarry, toWhitehead andCarrickfergus. TheA36 road runs from the town toBallymena.
TheBelfast–Larne railway line connects toBelfast Grand Central andBelfast Lanyon Place, viaWhitehead,Carrickfergus andJordanstown, also connects Larne to theNorthern Ireland Railwaysnetwork. Currently there is no freight transport by rail in Northern Ireland. BothLarne Town railway station andLarne Harbour railway station opened on 1 October 1862 and closed for goods traffic on 4 January 1965.[64]
TheBallymena and Larne Railway was anarrow-gauge railway. It opened in 1878, was closed to passengers in 1933 and finally completely closed in 1950. Another line ran from Larne to Ballyclare and some parts of it can still be made out where it ran along the Six Mile valley.
Larne Town Hall, the former headquarters of Larne Borough Council, was completed in 1870.[65]Moyle Hospital offers limited services after the closure of its accident and emergency department.[66]
Secondary schools located in Larne areLarne Grammar School andLarne High School.[67]Northern Regional College (formerly Larne Technical College) closed down in 2010 and was replaced by AEL (Access Employment Limited), a training and employment provider for people with disadvantages. Other schools are Roddensvale School, Moyle Primary School, St. MacNissis' Primary School, St. Antony's Primary School, Linn Primary School, Corran Integrated School, Olderfleet Primary School and Larne & Inver Primary School.
In memory of a battle in the town ofMusa Qala in Afghanistan in 2006, involving theRoyal Irish Regiment, a new regimental march, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned byLarne Borough Council, was gifted to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne, during an event in which the regiment was presented with "the Freedom of the Borough".
This gave the regiment the right to march through the towns of the borough with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The march was namedMusa Qala.[69]
The Friends Goodwill Music Festival occurs in May each year and supports local music.[70]
Larne F.C., a professionalassociation football club, plays in theNIFL Premiership.[71] Local amateur football clubs includeLarne Technical Old Boys F.C. andWellington Recreation F.C.[72]
Larne RFC is an amateurrugby union club, formerly based at Sandy Bay in the town, but relocated to the nearby village of Glynn in 1968.[73]
Latharna Óg GAC is a hurling club, located at Brustin Brae,[74] just outside the town, and won the 2019 Antrim Junior B Hurling Championship.[75]
Larne is twinned withClover,South Carolina, which has named one of its schools,Larne Elementary School,[76] after Larne.
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