Editing Larne (section)

==History==
[[File:Larne, Co Antrim (13734113344).jpg|thumb|Larne c.1888]]
The coastal area around Larne has been inhabited for millennia, and is thought to have been one of the earliest inhabited areas of Ireland, with these early human populations believed to have arrived from Scotland via the [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|North Channel]]. [[Carncastle#Knockdhu|Knockdhu]], north of Larne, was the site of a [[Bronze Age]] [[promontory fort]] and settlement. The early coastal dwellers are thought to have had a sophisticated culture which involved trading between the shores of the North Channel and between other settlements on the coasts of Scotland. The coast of Scotland is in fact clearly visible from here. Archaeological digs in the area have found [[flint]]work and other artefacts which have been assigned dates from 6000 BC onwards. The term ''Larnian'' has even been coined by archaeologists to describe such flintworks and similar artefacts of the [[Mesolithic]] era (and one time to describe Mesolithic culture in Ireland as a whole).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.larne.gov.uk/template1.asp?pid=596&area=6&text=1|title=Larne Borough council – Local History and Heritage|access-date=16 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408120840/http://www.larne.gov.uk/template1.asp?pid=596&area=6&text=1|archive-date=8 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/larnian|title=Answers – The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions|website=[[Answers.com]]|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330673/Larnian-industry|title=Larnian industry – ancient culture|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref> Larnian is also currently used to refer to people from Larne.

Larne takes its name from ''Latharna'', a [[Gaelic Ireland|Gaelic]] territory or ''[[túath]]'' that was part of the [[Ulaid]] [[petty kingdom]] of ''[[Dál nAraidi]]''.<ref name="MacCotter229-30"/> The name spelt as ''Latharne'' was used at one point in reference to the Anglo-Norman [[cantred]] of [[Carrickfergus]].<ref name="MacCotter229-30"/> ''Latharna'' itself means "descendants of [[Lathar]]", with Lathar according to legend being a son of the pre-Christian king [[Úgaine Mór]].<ref name="PlacenamesLarne"/> The town sprang up where the River Inver flows into Larne Lough. This area was known in Irish as ''Inbhear an Latharna'' ("rivermouth/estuary of Latharna")<ref name=Joyce>{{cite book | author = Patrick Weston Joyce | author-link = Patrick Weston Joyce | date = 1870 | title = Irish Local Names Explained | url = https://www.libraryireland.com/IrishPlaceNames/Larne.php | via = Library Ireland | access-date = 10 October 2020}}</ref> and was later anglicised as ''Inver Larne'' or simply ''Inver''. ''Latharna'' was only applied exclusively to the town in recent centuries. The [[Roman Empire|Roman]] emperor [[Septimius Severus|Severus]] is known to have described how, in 204 AD, a Roman galley bound for Scotland veered off course to a place called Portus Saxa, which was believed to be [[Larne Lough]].
There was [[Viking]] activity in the area during the 10th and 11th centuries AD. Viking burial sites and artefacts have been found in the area and dated to that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/the-sea-stallion-past-and-present/the-vikings-in-the-west/ireland/larne-viking-grave/|title=Fejl: Siden blev ikke fundet / adgang er ikke tilladt|access-date=16 April 2017|archive-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716185724/http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/the-sea-stallion-past-and-present/the-vikings-in-the-west/ireland/larne-viking-grave/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Ulfreksfjord'' was an [[Old Norse]] name for Larne Lough. According to the Norse historian [[Snorri Sturluson]], Connor, King of Ireland, defeated [[Orkney]] Vikings at ''Ulfreksfjord'' in 1018. Later anglicised names include ''Wulfrichford'', ''Wolderfirth'', ''Wolverflete'' and the surviving name ''Olderfleet''. The ending ''-fleet'' comes from the Norse ''fljot'', meaning "[[inlet]]".<ref name=oldufljot>[[Geoffrey Malcolm Gathorne-Hardy]]. [https://archive.org/stream/norsediscoverers00gathrich/norsediscoverers00gathrich_djvu.txt ''The Norse Discoverers of America'']. Clarendon Press, 1921.</ref> ''Older-'' may come from the Norse ''oldu'', meaning "wave".<ref name=oldufljot/> The town [[motto]] is ''Falce Marique Potens'' ([[Latin]] for "Powerful with the [[sickle]] and on the sea").<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-25 |title=Falce marique potens (Heraldic motto) |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Falce_marique_potens |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=Heraldry of the World |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Ruins of Olderfleet Castle, Larne.jpg|thumb|upright|Ruins of [[Olderfleet Castle]] in the late 19th century]]In the 13th century the Scots [[Bissett family (Ireland)|Bissett family]] built [[Olderfleet Castle]] at Curran Point. In 1315, [[Edward the Bruce]] of Scotland (brother of [[Robert the Bruce]], King of Scotland) landed at Larne with his 6000 strong army en route to conquer Ireland, where [[Olderfleet Castle]] was of strategic importance. Edward saw Ireland as another front in the ongoing war against Norman England.

In 1569, Queen [[Elizabeth I]], Queen of England and Ireland, appointed [[Moyses Hill|Sir Moyses Hill]] as the governor of Olderfleet Castle. It was seen as strategically important for any [[Tudor conquest of Ireland|Tudor conquest of Ulster]]. Following the 17th century [[Union of the Crowns]] of Scotland, England and Ireland under [[James VI & I]] many more settlers would have arrived to Ulster via Larne during the [[Plantation of Ulster]]. The area around County Antrim itself, however, was not part of the official 17th century Plantation; instead many Scottish settlers arrived in the area through private settlement in the 17th century.

During the 18th century many [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] emigrated to America from the port of Larne. A monument in the Curran Park commemorates the ''Friends Goodwill'', the first emigrant ship to sail from Larne in May 1717, heading for Boston, Massachusetts in the [[New England]] region of the modern United States of America. Boston's long standing [[Scotch-Irish American|Scots-Irish]] roots can be traced to Larne. The town is documented as being the first in county Antrim to be taken by United Irishmen during the ill-fated [[rebellion of 1798]].  The Protestant rebels from this area (almost entirely Presbyterian) filled Larne and engaged the government forces around 2am on the morning of 7 June.  This surprise attack drove the garrison to flee the town, at which point the rebel force marched off to join up with [[Henry Joy McCracken|McCracken]] and fight in the [[Battle of Antrim]].<ref>Hope, J., & Newsinger, J. (2001). United Irishman : the autobiography of James Hope: The autobiography of James Hope. p33-34 London: Merlin.</ref>

In 1914, [[Ulster loyalism|Loyalists]] opposed to the [[Home Rule Act 1914]] prepared for armed resistance. In an episode known as the [[Larne Gun Running]] German, Austrian and Italian weapons with ammunition were transported into the ports of Larne and Bangor in the dead of night and distributed throughout Ulster.<ref>A. T. Q. Stewart: "The Ulster Crisis", London, Faber and Faber Ltd., 1967 SBN 571 08066 9</ref> This event marked a major step in cementing the right to [[Ulster Unionism|Ulster Unionist]] [[self-determination]], with the recognition of such a right ultimately leading to the creation of [[Northern Ireland]].

=== The Troubles ===
Larne throughout the course of [[The Troubles]] had a significant paramilitary presence in the town, mostly through the presence of the [[Ulster Volunteer Force (1966)|Ulster Volunteer Force]] (UVF) and [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA). For further information see [[UDA South East Antrim Brigade]].

The town suffered a number of [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) bomb attacks during The Troubles, notably including a large car bomb at the King's Arms hotel<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacemakerpressintl.com/photo?id=133846|title=PaceMaker Press|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref> in 1980 that caused damage to the main shopping areas, for which the IRA claimed responsibility. This incident was raised in Parliament at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1980/may/06/terrorist-incident-larne|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=6 May 1980|title=Terrorist Incident (Larne)  |access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref>

Incidents which involved fatalities
*16 September 1972: Sinclair Johnston a UVF member, was shot by the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] during street disturbances in the town when the Royal Ulster Constabulary were protecting Catholics living in St Johns Place.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 264-265</ref>
*20 November 1974: Kevin Regan died from his injuries received in a UVF attack five days before on Maguires bar on Lower Cross Street. The Larne UDA blamed the IRA for the attack.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 495-496</ref>
*6 February 1975: Colette Brown, a Catholic, was found by the side of the Killyglen Road after being shot by Loyalists.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 514-515</ref> Two men, one a UVF member the other a Lance Corporal in the UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) were later convicted of her murder.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 366</ref>
*8 September 1975: Michael O'Toole a Catholic, died from his injuries sustained in a loyalist booby trap bomb attached to his car two days previously.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 575-576</ref>
*24 August 1980: Rodney McCormick a Catholic, was shot dead by the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA) in the Antiville area of the town. The gunmen involved were convicted.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 836</ref>
*11 July 2000: Andrew Cairns a UVF member, was killed by members of the UDA<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-07-13 |title=UVF man shot as loyalists fall out |url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jul/13/northernireland.jamiewilson |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> at an [[eleventh night]] bonfire celebration in a suspected loyalist feud at Boyne Square. He may also have been murdered due to his alleged involvement in an earlier assault.<ref>David McKittrick et al ''Lost Lives'' page 1478-1479</ref> The Royal Ulster Constabulary detective inspector, George Montgomery, did not find any motive for the murder. [[David Ervine]] (PUP) stated that there was no Loyalist feud.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/831717.stm|title=BBC News – NORTHERN IRELAND – Fresh appeal after bonfire murder|access-date=16 April 2017}}</ref>