Portrush

Sunset from the promenade

Portrush (from Irish Port Rois 'port of the promontory') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The main part of the old town, including the railway station, most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest. It had a population of 6,372 people in the 2001 Census. In the off-season, Portrush is a dormitory town for the nearby campus of the University of Ulster at Coleraine.

It is the base for the Katie Hannon, a Severn class lifeboat and Ken and Mary, a D–class inshore lifeboat of the RNLI. Lifeboats have operated out of Portrush Harbour since 1860.

Despite being in County Antrim, Portrush is in the East Londonderry constituency for the UK Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.

History

The Troubles

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

Demographics

Portrush is classified as a Small Town by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency website. (ie with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 6,372 people living in Portrush. Of these:

20.8% were aged under 16 years and 23.1% were aged 60 and over
46.2% of the population were male and 53.8% were female
23.6% were from a Catholic background and 70.6% were from a Protestant background.
5.1% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service^[1]

Places of interest

Attractions in the seaside resort, next to Portstewart, include the famous (at least in Northern Ireland) Barry's Amusements, Portrush Countryside Centre,^[2] the Dunluce Centre^[3] and a swimming complex. Also in the town is the renowned Royal Portrush Golf Club which hosted the 1951 British Open golf championship. There are sandy and rocky beaches to the east and west.
Portrush is home to one of Northern Ireland's best known nightclubs. The Kelly's complex consists of a multitude of bars and clubs and is Northern Ireland's largest nightclub complex. It includes the nightclub Lush, which attracts many of the world's top DJs and hosts BBC Radio 1 events.
There are two long sandy beaches in the town, known as the West and East Strand. White Rocks and Curran Strand stretch on from the East Strand and are backed by dunes and the famous Royal Portrush golf course.
Portrush is home to the Barry's, the largest amusement park in Northern Ireland.

Events

Portrush hosts an annual air show.^[4]
The RNLI raft race is a popular annual event. The Raft Race is a popular competition where contestants must build a raft that can travel from the West Strand beach into Portrush Harbour. The contest has been featured on Northern Ireland news broadcasts on several years. The Raft Race event is still a great credit to the RNLI's popularity in the area.^[5]
On June 17 2006 Norman Cook DJed to 20,000 people on the town's East Strand beach. Cook had previously played similar gigs on Brighton beach and Flamengo Beach in Rio de Janeiro. The police made eleven arrests at the event, on suspicion of the possession of drugs with the intent to supply.^[6]
The North West 200 — the motorcycle race which runs through Portstewart, Coleraine and Portrush every May. A long running tourist attraction which has attracted crowds in excess of 150,000 in past years.^{[citation needed]} Robert Dunlop and his late brother Joey Dunlop have been regular winners at the races, they hold the record for most wins, with fifteen and thirteen wins respectively.

People

Rev. James Law, father of Canadian born Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, (1922-1923) was born here.
Actor James Nesbitt, although born in neighbouring Ballycastle and raised in neighbouring Coleraine, has many times described his fondness of and experiences in Portrush in his youth. (The Friday Night Project). James Nesbitt was instrumental in the decision to film an episode of "Cold Feet" in Portrush and the surrounding coastline.

References

Northern Ireland Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN) website.
Portrush on the Culture Northern Ireland website.
Deane, Ciarán The Guinness Book of Irish Facts & Feats. Guinness Publishing 1994 ISBN 0-85112-793-2