Editing Portstewart

{{Short description|Town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
  |official_name=     Portstewart
  |irish_name=        Port Stíobhaird<ref name="Logainm">{{Cite web|url=https://www.logainm.ie/en/58464?s=Portstewart|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923201151/http://www.logainm.ie/Viewer.aspx?text=portstewart|url-status=dead|title=Port Stíobhaird/Port Stewart|archive-date=23 September 2012|website=Logainm.ie}}</ref>
  |scots_name=
  |local_name=
  |static_image_name= The Promenade at Portstewart - geograph.org.uk - 1322701.jpg
  |static_image_caption=
  |map_type=          Northern Ireland
  |coordinates = {{coord|55.18|-6.711|display=inline,title}}
  |irish_grid_reference=
| population = 7,854
| population_ref = <small>([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])<ref name="2021 pop">{{cite web |title=Settlement 2015 |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000184 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref></small>
   |unitary_northern_ireland=[[Causeway Coast and Glens]]
  |lieutenancy_northern_ireland=[[County Londonderry]]
  |constituency_ni_assembly=[[East Londonderry (Assembly constituency)|East Londonderry]]
  |constituency_westminster=[[East Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)|East Londonderry]]
  |country=           Northern Ireland
  |historic_county=
|post_town=         PORTSTEWART
  |postcode_area=     BT
  |postcode_district= BT55
  |dial_code=         028
  |website=
}}

'''Portstewart''' ({{Irish place name|Port Stíobhaird|}}) is a small seaside town in [[County Londonderry]], [[Northern Ireland]]. It had a population of 7,854 people in the [[2021 United Kingdom census]].<ref name="2021 pop"/> It is a [[seaside resort]], neighbouring both [[Coleraine]] in County Londonderry and [[Portrush]] in [[County Antrim]]. Its harbour and scenic coastal paths form an Atlantic promenade leading to a two-mile beach ([[Portstewart Strand]]), popular with holidaymakers in summer and [[surfing|surfers]] year-round. The town is located within the [[Barony (Ireland)|Barony]] of the [[North East Liberties of Coleraine]].<ref> Townlands.ie: Barony of N.E. Liberties of Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. https://www.townlands.ie/londonderry/ne-liberties-of-coleraine/</ref>

==Profile==
Portstewart was a popular holiday destination for [[Victorian era|Victorian]] middle-class families. Its long, crescent-shaped seafront promenade is sheltered by rocky headlands. It is a reasonably prosperous town. Most of the town is contained in the Strand electoral ward and this is one of the most affluent areas in Northern Ireland. In a [[deprivation index]] of electoral wards in Northern Ireland the Strand Ward in the town was ranked 570th out of the 582 wards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/Home.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123081824/http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/home.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2012|title=statistics|first=Northern Ireland Statistics and Research|last=Agency|website=ninis2.nisra.gov.uk}} </ref>

House prices in Portstewart have been amongst the highest in Northern Ireland. According to the [[University of Ulster]]'s ''Quarterly House Price Index'' report, produced in partnership with the [[Bank of Ireland]] and the [[Northern Ireland Housing Executive]], in the fourth quarter of 2010, the North Coast region ([[Coleraine]]/[[Limavady]] area) had higher property prices than those of affluent south [[Belfast]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://news.ulster.ac.uk/podcasts/QHPIFeb2011.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111125052646/http://news.ulster.ac.uk/podcasts/QHPIFeb2011.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 25 November 2011|title= Northern Ireland Quarterly House Price Index Q4 2010|date= 26 September 2011|work= ulster.ac.uk}}</ref>

Portstewart is one of the most integrated towns in Northern Ireland with the religious demographics similar to the population of Northern Ireland as a whole. Community relations are generally good within the town. [[Dominican College, Portstewart|Dominican College]], a Catholic grammar school, is one of the main schools in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dominican-portstewart.org.uk/aims.asp |title=Dominican College (Portstewart): Aims|accessdate=26 August 2013}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Portstewart, Panorama.jpg|thumb|right|Portstewart seafront.]]
Portstewart was founded in 1792 by John Cromie, who named it after his maternal ancestors, the Stewarts of Ballylesse.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.logainm.ie/Viewer.aspx?text=portstewart|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923201151/http://www.logainm.ie/Viewer.aspx?text=portstewart|url-status=dead|title=Logainm – Portstewart (see scanned images)|archive-date=23 September 2012}}</ref> A Lieutenant Stewart is said to have obtained a lease of land from [[Earl of Antrim#Earls of Antrim, first creation (1620; reverted)|The 5th Earl of Antrim]] (first creation; 1713–1775) in 1734.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://h2g2.com/entry/A2869879|title=h2g2 – A2 Northern Ireland's Coast Road – Part 1 Derry|first=Not Panicking|last=Ltd|website=h2g2.com}}</ref> Prior to this, the area was formerly known in [[Irish language|Irish]] as {{lang|ga|Port na Binne Uaine}}, a name related to the nearby island and townland of Benoney (an anglicisation of {{lang|ga|Binne Uaine}}).<ref name="Logainm"/> The name {{lang|ga|Port na Binne Uaine}} is still used today as the Irish language name of the town, alongside the [[Gaelicisation|Gaelicised]] version {{lang|ga|Port Stíobhaird}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cnag.ie/index.php?page=branch&action=view&branch_id=208 |title=Port na Binne Uaine branch|publisher= [[Conradh na Gaeilge]]|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>

Portstewart developed to a modest size seaside resort in the mid 19th century under the influence of a local landlord, John Cromie. Its development and character was influenced greatly by the [[Sunday Sabbatarianism|Sabbatarian]] sensitivities of the Cromies and the consequent resistance to a railway connection in the mid 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25529301|title=Early Scottish Railways and the Observance of the Sabbath|first=C. J. A. |last=Robertson|publisher=The Scottish Historical Review|date=1 October 1978|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>

==Places of interest==
[[File:Portstewart Strand.JPG|right|thumb|The Strand, looking west to the Barmouth and [[Mussenden Temple]] beyond.]]
[[File:Portstewart Town Hall (geograph 3788441) (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Portstewart Town Hall]]]]
*Portstewart has a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] [[convent]] (an imposing Gothic mansion) with the attached [[Dominican College (Portstewart)|Dominican College]] sitting on the edge of a cliff which dominates the western end of the [[Promenade]]. The site, formerly known as "O'Hara's Castle", was built in 1834 and bought by the Dominican Order in 1917 to be a centre of education in the north west of Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dcpni.net/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061218083205/http://dcpni.net/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=18 December 2006|title=Dominican College – Dominican College Portstewart|website=dcpni.net}}</ref>
*Just west of the town stretches [[Portstewart Strand]], a clean two-mile long [[Blue Flag beach|blue flag beach]], protected by the [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Portstewart Strand Visitor Facility | work=Northern Ireland Tourist Board | url=http://www.nitb.com/DocumentPage.aspx?path=1eedc8f8-64a1-40e7-9a79-4b98d6c25805,be3a7f48-f817-4ea9-a3e3-aa963a367728,9c0ace10-3ae2-4972-b315-a83ec3830172,1aa8d8ce-75f3-4b14-9151-87c6cf698ca4 | accessdate=13 July 2009 | archive-date=14 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714185015/http://www.nitb.com/DocumentPage.aspx?path=1eedc8f8-64a1-40e7-9a79-4b98d6c25805,be3a7f48-f817-4ea9-a3e3-aa963a367728,9c0ace10-3ae2-4972-b315-a83ec3830172,1aa8d8ce-75f3-4b14-9151-87c6cf698ca4 | url-status=live }}</ref>
*Beneath the convent is a cliff path which stretches along the coast from the Promenade to Portstewart Strand. From here it is a popular walk to the Barmouth, where the Bann flows out into the Atlantic Ocean. The cliff path has panoramic views across the Strand and [[Downhill Strand|Downhill]], with [[Inishowen]] in [[County Donegal]] in the background.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alltrails.com/trail/northern-ireland/londonderry/portstewart-cliff-path|title=Portstewart Cliff Path|publisher=All Trails|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
*[[Portstewart Town Hall]] was completed in 1934.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=6837&js=false|title=Town Hall, The Crescent, Portstewart, Co. Londonderry (HB03/08/007)|publisher=Department for Communities|access-date=20 June 2022}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:Cromore station near Portstewart - geograph.org.uk - 219758.jpg|thumb|right|Cromore station near Portstewart.]]
Portstewart is near the [[Coleraine–Portrush line|Portrush branch line]] from {{rws|Coleraine}} to {{rws|Portrush}}, opened by the [[Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway]] in 1856,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cromore station | work=Railscot – Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2012-05-06}}</ref> which was later absorbed into the [[Northern Counties Committee|Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (later Northern Counties Committee)]] in 1861.<ref>{{cite book| title=The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland| first=William Alan| last=McCutcheon| publisher=Northern Ireland Dept. of the Environment; Fairleigh Dickinson University Press| year=1984}}</ref> There was an intermediate station called ''[[Cromore railway station|Portstewart]]'' although it was about a mile from the town. The town was connected to the station by the [[Portstewart Tramway]] from 1882 to 1926. After closure of the tramway, the station saw few passengers eventually closing in 1963. It re-opened as ''Cromore'' in 1969 when the branch was upgraded but closed again in 1988. The station building has been sold and is now a private house.

Today there is no longer a station in Portstewart, but the nearest ones are Coleraine, {{rws|University|Northern Ireland}}, {{rws|Dhu Varren}} and Portrush with [[Northern Ireland Railways]] providing connections west to [[Castlerock]] and [[Derry ~ Londonderry railway station|Derry~Londonderry railway station]] and east to [[Lanyon Place railway station|Belfast Lanyon Place railway station]] and [[Belfast Grand Central station]]. [[Ulsterbus]] provide connections to the trains at Coleraine railway station.

==Sport==
*The town is home to three golf courses (under one club – [[Portstewart Golf Club]]), made lively by the forceful Atlantic wind. Portstewart has one of the few 54-hole complexes in Europe. The championship links Strand course is set amidst imposing sand dunes with panoramic views across the Atlantic mouth of [[Lough Foyle]] to the [[Inishowen]] peninsula beyond. The Strand Course hosted the [[Dubai Duty Free Irish Open]] in 2017 for the first time in the club's history and was the biggest event staged in the town ever attracting crowds of 92,000+.
*[[Portstewart F.C.]] are an intermediate [[Association football|football]] club playing in the [[NIFL Premier Intermediate League]].
* Every May, the [[North West 200]] motorcycle race passes through the town, with the starting grid and pit area on the coastal road between Portrush and Portstewart. The circuit between the towns of Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine is one of the fastest in the world, with top speeds exceeding 200&nbsp;mph on public roads. It is one of the last such classic races held in Europe. Drawing crowds of over 150,000, it is the largest outdoor sporting event on the island of Ireland.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-doe/news-doe-may-2009/news-doe-140509-other-motorists-have.htm|title= Other motorists have responsibility for bikers too, campaign warns|date =14 May 2009|access-date=26 September 2011 |publisher= [[Northern Ireland Executive]]}}</ref>
*[[CLG Eoghan Rua]], [[Coleraine]], is the local [[Gaelic Athletic Association]] club and the playing grounds are just outside Portstewart.
*Portstewart also hosts matches in the [[Milk Cup|Super Cup NI]].

==People==
[[File:Henry_McCullough_in_the_studio_in_2008.jpg|thumb|220px|Henry McCullough]]
* [[Field Marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[George White (British Army officer)|Sir George White]], [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (1835–1912) – commanded the garrison at the [[Siege of Ladysmith]] during the [[Second Boer War]], was born at [[Low Rock Castle]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Durand|first= Henry Mortimer|title=The life of Field-Marshal Sir George White, V.C. |publisher=W. Blackwood|location=Edinburgh, London|year=1915|url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeoffieldmarsh01durauoft#page/n7/mode/2up|isbn=978-1177733694|page=9}}</ref>
* [[Jimmy Kennedy]] (1902–1984) – songwriter; inspired by one of the town's sunsets when he wrote "[[Red Sails in the Sunset (song)|Red Sails in the Sunset]]". He was born in [[Omagh]] but grew up in Portstewart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AMusic/jimmyKennedy.html|title=A Tribute to Jimmy Kennedy|publisher=Irish Culture and Customs|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Harry Gregg]] (1932–2020) – former Northern Ireland footballer, used to own a hotel in the town.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/harry-gregg-obituary-nw2s27qlb|title=Harry Gregg obituary|newspaper=The Times|date=17 February 2020|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Sean Farren]] (born 1939) – [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] politician and former member of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]], lives in Portstewart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/6-sean-farren-sdlp-minister-for-higher-and-further-education-training-andemployment-1.255739|title=Sean Farren (SDLP)Minister for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment|work=The Irish Times| access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Robert Anthony Welch]] (1946–2013) – author, academic and literary historian<ref>{{cite news |title=Memoir to Tragic Egan |url=https://www.northernirelandworld.com/news/memoir-to-tragic-egan-2734534 |date=14 September 2012 |website=Northern Ireland World |access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref>
* [[Henry McCullough]] (1943–2016) – guitarist.<ref>{{cite news|last= Pollock|first= David |title= Obituary: Henry McCullough, guitarist |url= http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-henry-mccullough-guitarist-1-4158754 |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |date=19 June 2016|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Harry Mullan]] (1946–1999), boxing writer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/may/24/guardianobituaries.johnrawling|title=Harry Mullan|date=24 May 1999|newspaper=The Guardian| access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Billy Leonard]] (born 1955) – [[Sinn Féin]] politician and former member of the Northern Ireland Assembly; lives in Portstewart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/ex-ruc-man-joins-sinn-fein-28196471.html|title=Ex-RUC man joins Sinn Fein|date=4 July 2008|newspaper=Belfast Telegraph|access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Briana Corrigan]] (born 1965) – vocalist with [[The Beautiful South]] and the lead female vocalist on a number one single in 1990, "A Little Time". She grew up in Portstewart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sexist+songs+drove+me+out+of+band%3B+EX-BEAUTIFUL+SOUTH+SINGER+BRIANA...-a061315301|title=Sexist songs drove me out of band; ex-Beautiful South Singer Briana breaks her silence after two years| date=4 June 1996| access-date=19 June 2022}}</ref>
* [[Jimeoin]] (McKeown) (born 1966) – comedian.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tulloch|first=Sarah|date=19 October 2018|title='I think we do humour well at home. We just slag ourselves off' – Comedian Jimeoin set for Belfast return|work=belfasttelegraph|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music/i-think-we-do-humour-well-at-home-we-just-slag-ourselves-off-comedian-jimeoin-set-for-belfast-return-37434603.html|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

==Demography==
===2011 Census===
On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 8,003 people living in Portstewart (3,338 households), accounting for 0.44% of the NI total.<ref name=Census2011>{{cite web | url = https://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfileReportViewer.aspx?FromAPAddressMulipleRecords=Portstewart@Exact%20match%20of%20location%20name:%20@Exact%20Match%20Of%20Location%20Name:%20%20Portstewart@23? | title = Census 2011 Population Statistics for Portstewart Settlement | publisher = [[Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency]] (NISRA) | access-date = 6 August 2019}}</ref> The Census 2011 population represented an increase of 2.6% on the Census 2001 figure of 7,803.<ref name=Census2001>{{cite web | url = https://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/PivotGrid.aspx?ds=4840&lh=69&yn=2001&sk=135&sn=Census%202001&yearfilter=2001 | title = Census 2001 Usually Resident Population: KS01 (Settlements) – Table view | page = 6 | publisher = [[Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency]] (NISRA) | access-date = 6 August 2019}}</ref> Of the Census 2011 population:

* 14.77% were aged under 16 years and 18.94% were aged 65 and over;
* 52.73% of the usually resident population were female and 47.27% were male;
* 56.98% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' faith and 35.54% belong to or were brought up in the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] Christian faith;
* 51.56% indicated that they had a British national identity, 35.17% had a Northern Irish national identity and 22.15% had an Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity);
* 38 years was the average (median) age of the population;
* 13.36% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots and 9.90% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic).

===2021 Census===
On Census day (2021) there were 7,854 people living in Portstewart. Of the Census 2021 population:

* 51.96% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' faith and 35.13% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith.
* 46.54% indicated that they had a British national identity,<ref>{{cite web |title=National Identity (British) |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_BRITISH&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000184 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> 40.21% had a Northern Irish national identity<ref>{{cite web |title=National Identity (Northern Irish) |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_NORTHERN_IRISH_AGG3&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000184 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> and 27.03% had an Irish national identity<ref>{{cite web |title=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_IRISH_AGG3&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000184 |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=SETTLEMENT15&v=NAT_ID_IRISH_AGG3&%7ESETTLEMENT15=N11000184 |website=NISRA |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> (respondents could indicate more than one national identity).

==Education==
*[[Dominican College, Portstewart]]
*[[St. Colum's Primary School]]
*Portstewart Primary School

==See also==
*[[List of localities in Northern Ireland by population]]
*[[List of tourist attractions in Ireland]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070321174035/http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=1&to=101&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Portstewart}}

{{County Londonderry}}
{{Northern Ireland towns}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Portstewart| ]]
[[Category:Towns in County Londonderry]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of Northern Ireland]]