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Coleraine

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Template:Infobox Irish Place

Coleraine (from Irish Cúil Raithin 'Ferny corner') is a large town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland near to the mouth of the River Bann. It is 55 miles (90 km) north–west of Belfast and 30 miles (50 km) east of Derry City, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections. George Best Belfast City Airport to the south–east, City of Derry Airport, 25 miles (36 km) to the west, and the main regional airport, Belfast International Airport, to the south are all relatively accessible from Coleraine.

Coleraine had a population of 24,042 people in the 2001 Census. Disposable income is well above the Northern Ireland average. The North Coast (Coleraine/Limavady) area of Northern Ireland has the highest property prices in the province, higher indeed than those of affluent South Belfast (according to the University of Ulster Quarterly House Price Index report produced in partnership with Bank of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive - March 2006). Championship golf courses, scenic countryside and a host of leisure facilities and attractions are all on the doorstep. It has an attractive town centre, a marina and the prestigious Riverside theatre. Coleraine, during the day is a busy town, however at night the town is relatively quiet, with much of the night life in the area located in the nearby seaside towns of Portrush and Portstewart.

The setting of Coleraine, at the lowest bridgeable point of the River Bann, where the river is a quarter of a mile wide, is impressive. The town square is called 'The Diamond'; the Town Hall and the nearby St. Patrick's Church of Ireland are both located there. The University was built in the 1960s but is one of the better pieces of architecture from that era and has brought a high quality theatrical space to the town in the form of the Riverside Theatre, where the quality of production often belies the small size of the town.

Coleraine town centre has seen unprecedented growth in recent years[citation needed]. It is the major commercial centre in the North East of the province and has been designated as a major growth area in the Northern Ireland Development Strategy. Although the population of the town is only 24,000, Coleraine has a large catchment area. Over 251,000 people live within a 30 minute drive of the town making it one of the most important towns in Northern Ireland[citation needed]. The town also has the advantage of being near some of the most extraordinary landscape in the whole of Europe. In 2002, Coleraine won the Best Kept Town and Ulster in Bloom awards. In 2003, it was selected to represent Northern Ireland in the prestigious Britain in Bloom competition. It has its own local radio station: Q97.2FM

Despite having a large unionist majority, the town "has generally good relations between the main communities".[1] The Unionist-controlled Coleraine Borough Council operates a rotation for position of Mayor/Deputy Mayor between the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Democratic Unionist Party and the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).

History

The centre of Coleraine

Coleraine has a long history of settlement. The Mesolithic site at Mount Sandel, which dates from approximately 5935 BC[2] is the earliest evidence of human settlement on the island of Ireland.

The town was one of the two urban communities developed by the London Companies in County Londonderry (hence, Londonderry) in the Plantation of Ulster at the start of the 17th century. The slightly skewed street pattern of Coleraine's town centre is legacy of that early exercise in town planning, along with traces of the lines of the ramparts that provided the Plantation town with its defences. With some industrialisation, the expansion of the river port, and the development of the railway, the town expanded significantly throughout the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century.

Coleraine steadily expanded after the Second World War. The population doubled due to major industrial development on extensive suburban sites, the decision to site the New University in the town, the expansion of commerce and the development of sporting and recreational facilities. There has been a steady expansion of the urban area from the mid 20th century compact town of less than 1¼ square miles (2 km²), to the present much more dispersed town of about 7 square miles (11 km²).

Since 1980 growth has continued but at a slightly more modest pace. In the twenty years to 2001 the town’s population increased by 22% to approximately 24,000, but the rate of increase fell from 12% in the 1980s to 8% in the 1990s.[3]

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Coleraine, which includes a list of incidents in Coleraine during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Places of interest

The east side of the town is distinguished by Mountsandel Forest, which contains the impressive Mount Sandel fort, an ancient site which has been claimed as the oldest site of human settlement in Ireland. Here wooden houses dating from about 7000 BC were uncovered[citation needed]. The fort can be accessed via Mountsandel forest, the closest entrance being the side near the Coleraine Courthouse.

There is another fort about 2 miles south from Mountsandel one near a small village called the Loughan. The entrance to the slightly smaller fort can be found on the right hand side of the road as you go down the Loughan Hill.

Administration

Coleraine also has the headquarters of Coleraine Borough Council which are situated in a splendid position overlooking the River Bann.

File:P6050147.JPG
Over Looking the River Bann

The Borough Council area together with the neighbouring district of Limavady, forms the East Londonderry constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. This is despite some of the borough, including Coleraine itself, are actually in County Antrim.

Tourism

Coleraine is the main town or “Capital” of the world famous Causeway Coast, which attracts over two million visitors per year, spending in excess of £37 million[citation needed]. The world famous Giant's Causeway is a twenty–five minute bus ride away. The little distillery village of Bushmills is well-served by buses from the town and there is a little steam train running in the summer from Bushmills to the Giant's Causeway. Portrush, which is part of the Borough, is fifteen minutes on the train north of the town and is Northern Ireland's principal seaside resort, with not one but two long strands of beach complete with sand dunes. Also north of Coleraine is the spectacularly scenic coastal town of Portstewart, with fine sandy beach and coastal walks.

North-west of Coleraine lies the small village of Castlerock, with a beach which is essentially a continuation of the beach at Portstewart, separated by the River Bann. Also nearby is the huge beach at Benone Strand and Mussenden Temple, built by Frederick Augustus Hervey, an 18th century Anglican bishop atop a precipitate cliff and overlooking County Donegal in one direction and Scotland in another. The National Trust managed Downhill forest was part of the Bishop's Palace, and although the Palace itself is now a ruin the gardens are a wonderful place full of strange hidden lakes and gloriously tended flower gardens.

People

Education

Coleraine has an outstanding variety of educational institutions at all levels. Most notably a major campus of The University of Ulster is located just outside the town. This was in fact the original campus of what was originally the New University of Ulster but which became the University of Ulster following its merger with the former Ulster Polytechnic at Jordanstown just north of Belfast in the early 1980s. It is a world-class centre of research for biomedical sciences.

The Causeway Institute is a College of Further and Higher Education based in Coleraine, with another campus in nearby Ballymoney.

The local schools include:

Sport

2001 Census

Coleraine is classified as a Large Town (ie with population between 18,000 and 75,000 people).[5] On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 24,042 people living in Coleraine. Of these:

  • 24.6% were aged under 16 years and 16.4% were aged 60 and over
  • 47.3% of the population were male and 52.7% were female
  • 22.7% were from a Catholic background and 73.5% were from a Protestant background
  • 4.7% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Coleraine internationally

As with many Irish towns, Coleraine is duplicated across the world - Coleraine in Minnesota, United States for example. In 1853, a surveyor named Lindsay Clarke was working on a township called Bryans Creek Crossing in Victoria, Australia. He renamed the town Coleraine.[6]

A wine from New Zealand, Te Mata Estate's Coleraine Cabernet/Merlot, is named after the town.[7]

References

  1. ^ http://www.planningni.gov.uk/areaplans_policy/plans/Northern/draft_plan/Volume2/Part5/Coleraine/DevelopmentContext.htm Planning service Draft Northern Area Plan, Accessed 27 December, 2006
  2. ^ The Statesman's Yearbook 2007, Macmillan Publishing, page 678, edited by Barry Turner, ISBN 10-1403992762/ISBN 13-97814039092765
  3. ^ http://www.planningni.gov.uk/areaplans_policy/plans/Northern/draft_plan/Volume2/Part5/Coleraine/DevelopmentContext.htm Planning service Draft Northern Area Plan, Accessed 27 December, 2006
  4. ^ Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006, ISBN 1-904027-19-9
  5. ^ http://www.nisra.gov.uk/archive/urbanreport.pdf NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Accessed 27 December, 2006
  6. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/Victoria/Coleraine/2005/02/17/1108500206358.html Accessed on 27 December, 2006
  7. ^ http://www.temata.co.nz/TemataColeraine.asp Accessed 26 December 2006

See also

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