Coleraine
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Template:Infobox Irish Place Coleraine (Cúil Raithin in Irish) is a large town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland at the mouth of the River Bann and has the advantage of being near some of the most extraordinary landscape in the whole of Europe. In terms of overall quality of life, the Coleraine area is one of the most attractive places to live in Northern Ireland. Disposable income is well above the Northern Ireland average. Championship golf courses, scenic countryside and a host of leisure facilities and attractions are all on the doorstep.
Coleraine had a population of 24,089 people in the 2001 Census. It has an attractive town centre, a marina, a 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 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)
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. As in many other towns in the north of Ireland, the town square is called 'The Diamond' and the Town Hall and nearby Church of Ireland St Patrick's Church are both reasonably venerable and attractive. The University was built in the 1960's 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. In recent years a number of private art galleries have opened in the town, and some of those are very interesting indeed. The town has an excellent Chinese restaurant situated in an old Boat House on the river side.
Coleraine town centre has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. 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.
In 2002, Coleraine won the Best Kept Town Award and “Ulster in Bloom”. 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
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Places of interest
Mountsandel Fort in Coleraine is the oldest known settlement in Ireland. Here wooden houses dating from about 7000 BC were uncovered. The east side of the town is distinguished by Mountsandel Forest, which contains the impressive Mountsandel fort, an ancient site which has been claimed as the oldest site of human settlement in Ireland.
Administration
Coleraine also has the headquarters of Coleraine Borough Council which are situated in a splendid position overlooking 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.
Tourism
Coleraine is the main town or “Capital” of the world famous Causeway Coast, which attracts over 2 million visitors per year, spending in excess of £37 million. The world famous Giant's Causeway is a 25 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 15 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 delightful 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 and the bizarre Mussenden Temple, built by an 18th century Anglican bishop (and slave trader) 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
Well-known people from Coleraine include the actor James Nesbitt, and David Cunningham from the band The Flying Lizards, who produced the zeitgeist-defining hit single 'Money' in the early 1980s also the Irish rugby and Ulster Rugby Player Andrew Trimble is from Coleraine
- The ancestors of James Knox Polk, 11th President of the United States, were among the first Ulster-Scots settlers, emigrating from Coleraine in 1680 to become a powerful political family in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina. He moved to Tennessee and became its Governor before winning the Presidency.
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 '80's. 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 grammar schools have always maintained a high reputation and include:
- Loreto College, Coleraine: co-educational Catholic grammar school
- Dalriada School, Ballymoney: co-educational grammar school
- Dominican College, Portstewart: co-educational grammar school
- Coleraine High School: Grammar school for girls
- Coleraine Academical Institution: Grammar school for boys
The town is also the base for North Coast Integrated College. This non-denominational school caters for all faiths and all abilities and has been over-subscribed in every year since its establishment in 1996.
2001 Census
Coleraine is classified as a Large Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 18,000 and 75,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 24,089 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
See also
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