Portballintrae
| Portballintrae | |
| County Antrim | |
|---|---|
 Portballintrae | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 55°12’51"N, 6°32’45"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 734 (2001) |
| Post town: | Portballintrae |
| Postcode: | BT57 |
| Dialling code: | 028 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Causeway Coast & Glens |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Antrim |
Portballintrae is a small seaside village in County Antrim. It is on the north coast of the county, four miles east of Portrush and just two miles west of the Giant's Causeway.
In the 2001 the village had a population of 734 (96.5% Protestant according to the figures); a decline of 10% compared to 1991. Its main business is as a seaside resort and a centre for exploring the Causeway Coast.
The name of the village is Gaelic, from Port Bhaile an Trá, meaning "Port of the beach town".
History
In 1588, the Girona, a Spanish ship from the Armada fleeing homewards, was wrecked on the north Antrim coast near Port Ballintrae. Off the coast of Portballintrae, a team of Belgian divers found and recovered a hoard of treasure from the wreck; the greatest find of Spanish Armada treasure ever recovered from a wrecked ship. The Girona’s recovered gold jewellery is on show in the Ulster Museum in Belfast.
Portballintrae was originally a fishing village; a cluster of whitewashed cottages nestled around the horse shoe-shaped Ballintrae Bay. Many of its earlier buildings have been restored and maintained. The original village houses were built in a line along the seashore and many old cottages still stand on the shore.
Portballintrae has undergone fast growth since the 1970s. However, there has been a steady change in its character, with almost all the recent dwellings completed acquired as second homes, and a considerable proportion of the older housing changing also to second homes. Considerably less than half of the dwellings in the village remain as permanent residences. House prices are high; a modest three bedroom bungalow would be expected to realise anything up to £300,000, those with sea views realise considerably more than this. It is thought that the majority of the housing and development issues were caused by overzealous local developers. In the summer of 2009, a new village hall was constructed by the sea-front car park complete with conference suite, IT facilities and a newsagents.
Portballintrae was considered as a location for a proposed £1 billion golf course complex by American tycoon Donald Trump.[1]
Places of interest
- The ruins of Dunluce Castle stand on the edge of a cliff between Portballintrae and Portrush. The castle was the main stronghold of the MacDonnell chiefs of Antrim.
- Much of Portballintrae and its surrounding area is owned by the Macnaghten family of Dundarave House and Runkerry House. Runkerry, once the home of Lord Macnaghten has since been converted into a series of apartments.
- The Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway, a delightfully eccentric light railway, runs through the sand dunes above the largest beach in Portballintrae, commonly known as Runkerry Strand, and Bushfoot Golf Club. This railway, popular with tourists runs between the Giant's Causeway and Bushmills.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Portballintrae) |
http://www.portballintraecssm.com/portballintrae.html Portballintrae CSSM] (Children's Special Service Mission)
