Larne

Larne (from the Irish: Latharna meaning "Lothair-na" — a Viking chieftain) is a large town in 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 contains the headquarters of 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.

1 History
2 Transport
3 People
4 Sport
5 Industry
6 2001 Census
7 References
8 External links
9 See also

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 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.

[edit] People

Author and poet Amanda M’Kittrick Ros, who has been described by critics as "The world's worst author",^{[citation needed]} taught at Millbrook National School, Larne in the 1880s.
Crystal Palace footballer Michael Hughes, DJ Fergie and X-Factor and Popstars: The Rivals stars Keith Semple (who was a member of One True Voice) and Phillip Magee have all put the town on the map in recent years.
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^{[citation needed]} 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.

[edit] Sport

[edit] Industry

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

[edit] 2001 Census

Larne is classified as a Large Town by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)^[1] (ie 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