Larne or Lairne (, the name of a
Gaelic territory) is a seaport and industrial market town, as well as a
civil parish, on the east coast of
County Antrim,
Northern Ireland with a population of 18,323 people in the 2008 Estimate. As of 2011, there are about 32,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a
seaport for over 1,000 years, and is today a major passenger and freight
roll-on roll-off port. Larne is twinned with
Clover, South Carolina which has named one of its schools,
Larne Elementary School, after Larne. Larne is administered by
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. The civil parish is situated in the historic
barony of
Glenarm Upper.