Portrush | |
---|---|
Planes on the beach during the yearly air show | |
Location within Northern Ireland | |
Population | 6,454 (Census 2011) |
Irish grid reference | C855409 |
• Belfast | 50 miles (80 km) |
District | |
County | |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PORTRUSH |
Postcode district | BT56 |
Dialling code | 028 |
Police | Northern Ireland |
Fire | Northern Ireland |
Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
UK Parliament | |
NI Assembly | |
Portrush (from Irish : Port Rois, meaning 'port of the promontory ') [3] is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a 1 mile (1.6 km)–long peninsula, Ramore Head. It had a population of 6,454 people at the 2011 Census. [4] In the off-season, Portrush is a dormitory town for the nearby campus of the University of Ulster at Coleraine.
The town is well known for its three sandy beaches, the West Strand, East Strand and White Rocks, as well as the Royal Portrush Golf Club, the only golf club outside Great Britain which has hosted The Open Championship in 1951 and 2019.
A number of flint tools found during the late 19th century show that the site of Portrush was occupied during the "Larnian" (late Irish Mesolithic) period; [6] recent estimates date this to around 4000 BC. [7]
The site of Portrush, with its excellent natural defences, probably became a permanent settlement around the 12th or 13th century. A church is known to have existed on Ramore Head at this time, but no part of it now survives. From the records of the papal taxation of 1306, the Portrush church – and by extension the village – appears to have been reasonably wealthy. The promontory also held two castles, at varying periods. The first of these, Caisleán an Teenie, is believed to have been at the tip of Ramore Head, and probably destroyed in the late 16th century; the other, Portrush Castle, may have been built around the time of the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century. Nothing survives of either castle. [8]
Following the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the mid-17th century, Portrush became a small fishing town. It grew heavily in the 19th century as a tourist destination, following the opening of the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway in 1855, and by the turn of the 20th century had become one of the major resort towns of Ireland, with a number of large hotels and boarding houses including the prominent Northern Counties Hotel. As well as the town's beaches and the Royal Portrush Golf Club (opened 1888), the nearby Giant's Causeway was a popular tourist destination, with the Giant's Causeway Tramway – at the time, one of the world's longest electrified railways – built in 1893 to cater to travellers coming from Portrush. [9]
The town's fortunes peaked in the late 19th and early 20th century, and declined after the Second World War with the growth of foreign travel. It escaped any involvement in the Troubles until 3 August 1976, when a series of bombings of properties burned out and destroyed several buildings, though with no loss of life. [10] In a second attack in April 1987, two officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) were shot in the back by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while on foot patrol on Main Street. [11]
On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 6,454 people living in Portrush (2,824 households), accounting for 0.36% of the NI total. [4] Of these:
Portrush has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).
Climate data for Portrush (8 m or 26 ft elevation, averages 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 7.9 (46.2) | 8.1 (46.6) | 9.8 (49.6) | 12.0 (53.6) | 14.6 (58.3) | 16.4 (61.5) | 18.2 (64.8) | 18.2 (64.8) | 16.5 (61.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 10.4 (50.7) | 8.6 (47.5) | 12.9 (55.2) |
Average low °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) | 2.9 (37.2) | 3.9 (39.0) | 5.6 (42.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.4 (54.3) | 12.5 (54.5) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.9 (46.2) | 5.6 (42.1) | 3.6 (38.5) | 7.3 (45.1) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 85.6 (3.37) | 68.7 (2.70) | 69.4 (2.73) | 57.3 (2.26) | 58.4 (2.30) | 67.0 (2.64) | 73.4 (2.89) | 85.4 (3.36) | 82.2 (3.24) | 98.9 (3.89) | 112.2 (4.42) | 111.2 (4.38) | 969.6 (38.17) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 17.2 | 12.6 | 15.4 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 11.9 | 13.4 | 14.4 | 16.1 | 17.9 | 17.8 | 16.3 | 176.7 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 50.9 | 70.2 | 109.6 | 178.2 | 221.6 | 175.0 | 152.9 | 137.3 | 124.1 | 96.1 | 53.9 | 37.3 | 1,407.3 |
Source: metoffice.gov.uk [12] |
Portrush hosts an annual air show at the beginning of September. [22]
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution raft race is am annual event in which contestants must build a raft that can take them from the West Strand beach into Portrush Harbour. The event has been featured on Northern Ireland news broadcasts on several years and is a great credit to the RNLI's popularity locally. [23]
The North West 200 is a motorcycle road race following the triangular route around Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush. Held every May, with events in various engine categories, it attracts crowds in excess of 150,000. [24]
The following schools are in Portrush: [25]
The Northern Ireland Milk Cup uses Parker Avenue in Portrush as one of the pitches for the tournament, and many teams stay within the town itself. [26]
Portrush railway station was opened on 4 December 1855 and closed for goods traffic on 20 September 1954. The station is the last stop on the Coleraine-Portrush railway line, where travellers can connect with trains to Derry, Belfast and beyond.
Portrush is a busy seaside resort, with a frequent train service run by Northern Ireland Railways connecting with Ulsterbus services linking to Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway. [27]
RNLI lifeboats have operated out of Portrush Harbour since 1860, and currently stationed there are the Severn class William Gordon Burr and the D-class inshore vessel David Roulston. [28]
County Antrim is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 3,086 square kilometres (1,192 sq mi) and has a population of about 618,000. County Antrim has a population density of 203 people per square kilometre or 526 people per square mile. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, as well as part of the historic province of Ulster.
County Londonderry, also known as County Derry, is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. Before the partition of Ireland, it was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Ireland from 1613 onward and then of the United Kingdom after the Acts of Union 1800. Adjoining the north-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) and today has a population of about 247,132.
The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills.
Bushmills is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the 2011 Census. It is located 60 miles (97 km) from Belfast, 11 miles (18 km) from Ballycastle and 9 miles (14 km) from Coleraine. The village owes its name to the River Bush and to a large watermill that was built there in the early 17th century. It is home to the Old Bushmills Distillery, which produces Irish whiskey, and is near the Giant's Causeway.
Coleraine is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is 55 miles (89 km) northwest of Belfast and 30 miles (48 km) east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections. It is part of Causeway Coast and Glens district.
Portstewart is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,003 people in the 2011 Census. It is a seaside resort neighbouring Portrush. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leading to a two-miles beach, popular with holidaymakers in summer and surfers year-round.
Coleraine Borough Council was a local council mainly in County Londonderry and partly in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Causeway Coast and Glens District Council
Royal Portrush Golf Club is a private golf club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 36-hole club has two links courses, the Dunluce Links and the Valley Links. The former is one of the courses on the rota of the Open Championship and last hosted the tournament in 2019.
The culture of Northern Ireland relates to the traditions of Northern Ireland. Elements of the Culture of Ulster and the Culture of the United Kingdom are to be found.
The Giant's Causeway Tramway, operated by the Giant's Causeway, Portrush and Bush Valley Railway & Tramway Company Ltd, was a pioneering 3 ft narrow gauge electric railway operating between Portrush and the Giant's Causeway on the coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The line, 9+1⁄4 miles (14.9 km) long, was hailed at its opening as "the first long electric tramway in the world". The Giant's Causeway and Bushmills Railway today operates diesel and steam tourist trains over part of the Tramway's former course.
Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is five miles west of Coleraine, and part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan sites. Castlerock Golf Club has both 9-hole and 18-hole links courses bounded by the beach, the River Bann and the Belfast to Derry railway line. The village had a population of 1,287 people at the 2011 census, and is where near by village Articlave F.C play their home games.
Kilrea is a village, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It gets its name from the ancient church that was located near to where the current Church of Ireland is located on Church Street looking over the town. It is near the River Bann, which marks the boundary between County Londonderry and County Antrim. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,678 people. It is situated within Causeway Coast and Glens district.
Portballintrae is a small seaside village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is four miles east of Portrush and two miles west of the Giant's Causeway. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 734 people, a decline of 10% compared to 1991. It lies within the Causeway Coast and Glens District Council area.
The Coleraine–Portrush line is a short branch railway line in Northern Ireland between the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry and the seaside resort of Portrush in County Antrim. The line, which is operated by Northern Ireland Railways, has two intermediate halts and connects to the main Belfast–Derry line at Coleraine.
Portrush railway station is the terminus of the Coleraine-Portrush railway line and serves the seaside town of Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
The Ulster University at Coleraine is a campus of Ulster University in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It houses the administrative headquarters of the university and is the most traditional in outlook, with a focus on science and the humanities. It was founded in 1968 as the New University of Ulster and was later known as the University of Ulster at Coleraine until October 2014 when it was rebranded with the rest of the university to be known as Ulster University at Coleraine. The Coleraine campus is situated on the banks of the River Bann in Coleraine with views to the Causeway Coast and the hills of County Donegal to the West.
The A29 is a major road in Northern Ireland; it is mostly a single carriageway and goes through a number of main towns and connects in several places to other major roads.
Cllr Norman Hillis is an Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician from Northern Ireland, who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry from 2003 to 2007.
The Skerries are a small group of rocky islands (skerries) just off Portrush, County Antrim, on the north coast of Northern Ireland. Winkle Isle is the local name for the large Skerry island, the small Skerry being known as Castle Isle. The islands are part of an Area of Special Scientific Interest.
Causeway Coast and Glens is a local government district covering most of the northern part of Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ballymoney, the Borough of Coleraine, the Borough of Limavady and the District of Moyle. The local authority is Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.