Coleraine


Coleraine is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, of which it is the county town. It is north-west of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections. It is part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. Coleraine had a population of 24,483 people in the 2021 census.

Geography

Coleraine is at the lowest bridgeable point of the River Bann, where the river is wide. The town square is called 'The Diamond' and is the location of Coleraine Town Hall. The three bridges in Coleraine are the Sandelford Bridge, Coleraine Bridge and the Bann Bridge.
The town has a large catchment area and is designated as a "major growth area" in the Northern Ireland Development Strategy.

History

Neolithic period

Coleraine has some of the oldest evidence of human settlement in Ireland. Mount Sandel dates from approximately 5935 BC. The Iron Age souterrain and Ogham Stone and be found just southwest of Coleraine at Dunalis.

Early Middle Ages

The 9th Century hagiography, Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick, records how the town got its name. When Patrick arrived in the neighbourhood, he was received with great honour and hospitality by the local chieftain, Nadslua, who offered him a piece of ground on which to build a church. The spot was next to the river Bann and was overgrown with ferns, which were being burned by some boys to amuse themselves. This incident led to the area being called Cúil Raithin, which was later anglicised as Coulrath, Colrain, Colerain and Coleraine. It was translated by Colgan into Latin as Secessus Filicis.
The town's main Church of Ireland church, St. Patrick's Church, is named in reference to this history. It was heavily remodelled by the architect Sir Thomas Drew in the 1880s.

Ulster Plantation

The town was one of the two urban communities developed by the London Companies in County Londonderry in the Plantation of Ulster at the start of the 17th century. In particular, The Honourable the Irish Society was made responsible for much of Coleraine and it remains so today.
The slightly skewed street pattern of Coleraine's town centre is the 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.

War of the Two Kings (1689–91)

During the War of the Two Kings Coleraine was a centre of Protestant resistance to the rule of James II. Richard Hamilton's Irish Army made an attempt to seize the town but was repulsed. The Protestants were forced to abandon the town shortly afterwards and withdrew to Derry.
Later the same year, following the failed Siege of Derry, Sir Charles Carney and his Jacobite garrison fled the town on receiving news of the advance of Percy Kirke's Enniskillen forces and the landing at Carrickfergus of Marshal Schomberg. The Williamites controlled Coleraine for the remainder of the war.

Industrial Era

With some industrialisation, the expansion of the river port, and the development of the railway, the town expanded throughout the 19th century.
The population doubled due to a number of factors: major industrial development on extensive suburban sites, including a substantial distillery producing Coleraine Whiskey; the expansion of commerce; and the development of sporting and recreational facilities.

World Wars & the 20th Century

The town sent soldiers to both world wars. The town's population then expanded significantly after the Second World War.
In 1968 the New University of Ulster opened in the town and became a major employer. The university also attracted students to the area.
There has been a steady expansion of the urban area from the mid-20th-century compact town of less than, to the present much more dispersed area of about. Since 1980s 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 25,000 but the rate of increase fell from 12% in the 1980s to 8% in the 1990s.

The Troubles

Pre-1998 Belfast Agreement

During The Troubles 11 people were killed in or near Coleraine prior to 1998.
Separately, a non-fatal van bomb was detonated by the IRA on 13 November 1992 in the town centre. It resulted in extensive property damage and several major buildings were demolished. Coleraine Town Hall required major structural work, and was not reopened until August 1995.

Post-1998 Belfast Agreement

  • In 2001 John Henry McCormick, who was believed to be Catholic, was killed by loyalist paramilitaries in his home. His partner and children were in the house on the Ballysally estate.
  • In 2002 a teenager with no paramilitary connections was killed when he picked up a pipe bomb in the Heights estate in the town.
  • In 2009 Kevin McDaid, a Catholic community worker, was killed by a loyalist mob in the Heights estate on the Somerset Drive road, a mixed area with tri-colour flags. His wife Evelyn and neighbor Damien were also attacked, along with a pregnant woman who had pleaded with the attackers.
There is reason to believe that there is still substantial sectarian violence and paramilitary activity in Coleraine.
  • In 2021, the Police Service of Northern Ireland announced it had set up a special task force due to the rise in paramilitary shootings in the town.
  • In 2023, a man in his 30s was shot four times after being hooded and taken out of the town in a planned attack by a gang of masked men.
  • In 2024, the Police Service of Northern Ireland appealed for information after shots were fired at a house in the Ballysally estate.

    Economy

Coleraine sits within the second poorest council areas in Northern Ireland, both in terms of relative poverty and absolute poverty.
There are widespread concerns that the high street in Coleraine has seen a steady decline in shops closing.
Historically a number of products were made in the town, such as Coleraine Cheddar and Coleraine Whiskey. However, over the years the production of these goods has moved out of the town:
  • Coleraine Cheddar is now made in Portadown;
  • Coleraine Whiskey, now made by Irish Distillers in Cork.

    Transport

opened on 4 December 1855 and shares facilities with the town's Ulsterbus bus depot. Passenger service is delivered via the Belfast-Derry railway line along the scenic shore of Lough Foyle and the Coleraine–Portrush branch line. The Belfast–Derry railway line is to be upgraded to facilitate more frequent trains and improvements to the permanent way such as track and signalling to enable faster services.
The railway station was closed for goods traffic on 4 January 1965.

Demography

Coleraine has a population of approximately 25,000 people, making it a relatively small town within the official classification of a 'large town'.
According to the Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, the area is the second poorest in Northern Ireland both in terms of relative poverty and absolute poverty. Northern Ireland itself is one of the poorest countries in Europe, therefore Coleraine being one of the poorest parts of NI means many people in the area face substantial deprivation.
Coleraine is home to one of the largest Polish communities in Northern Ireland.

2021 census

On Census day there were 24,483 people living in Coleraine. Of these:
  • 18.78% were aged under 16, 63.25% were aged between 16 and 65, and 17.97% were aged 66 and over.
  • 51.88% of the usually resident population were female and 48.11% were male.
  • 61.72% are or were brought up Protestant, 24.38% are or were brought up Catholic, 1.33% are or were brought up in an 'other' religion, and 12.57% did not adhere to or weren't brought up in any religion.
  • 61.91% indicated they had a British national identity, 36.74% indicated they had a Northern Irish national identity, 11.17% indicated they had an Irish national identity, and 8.35% indicated they had an 'other' national identity.
  • 15.65% had some knowledge of Ulster Scots and 4.44% had some knowledge of Irish.

    Religion

Coleraine has considerably more churches per 1,000 people than the average in the UK or the Republic of Ireland:

Loyalism

Coleraine has a broadly loyalist culture, and contains an Orange Hall and several marching bands:
The town is surrounded by farmland, and there is a significant countryside community. Local venues often organise country music events.

In literature

The poetical illustration The Coleraine Salmon Leap by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1836, refers to an abundance of salmon in the river here in those times, and to a considerable sport derived therefrom. It accompanies an engraving of a painting of the salmon leap by Thomas Mann Baynes.