Larne (Irish: Latharna, 'the lands of (Prince) Lathar') is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. It has been used as a seaport for over 1000 years, and is now mostly used by freight. Larne is twinned with Clover, South Carolina.
Larne has long been associated with anti-Catholic sectarianism and in the late '90s and early '00s many Catholics were forced to leave their homes as a result of violent attacks by Loyalist paramilitaries.
Larne contains the headquarters of Larne Borough Council. Together with the neighbouring district of Carrickfergus and part of Newtownabbey, it forms the East Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
During the 18th century many Ulster-Scots immigrated to America from the port of Larne. A monument in Curran Park commemorates the Friends Goodwill, the first emigrant ship to sail from Larne in May 1717, heading for Boston.
Ferries sail from the harbour to destinations including Cairnryan and Troon in Scotland, and Fleetwood in England with P&O Irish Sea and StenaLine as ferry operators.
Larne is connected to Belfast by the A8 road. The A2 road or 'Antrim coast road' which runs along the Antrim coast, and passes through the scenic Glens of Antrim, also serves the town. South of the town the A2 passes the side of Larne Lough, via Glynn, Magheramorne, and Ballycarry, to Whitehead and Carrickfergus. The A36 road runs from the town to Ballymena.
An railway route to Belfast, via Whitehead and Carrickfergus, also connects Larne to the Northern Ireland Railways network. Currently there is no freight transport by rail in Northern Ireland.
