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Portaferry - Strangford Ferry
Portaferry () is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Float Parade. It hosts its own small Marina, the Portaferry Marina. The Portaferry - Strangford Ferry service operates daily at 30-minute intervals (7.45 am to 10.45 pm) between the villages of Portaferry and Strangford, less than 1500 metres apart, conveying about 500,000 passengers per annum. It had a population of 2,514 people in the 2011 Census. Pot fishing, mainly for prawns and crabs and licensed shellfish farming takes place within Strangford Lough. Queen's University of Belfast have a Marine Research Laboratory on the shorefront and currently the town is also home to a tidal energy research project the Minesto Sea Kite. The lough is one of the world's most important marine sites with over 2,000 marine species. There are fine Georgia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ards And North Down Borough Council
Ards and North Down Borough Council is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ards Borough Council and North Down Borough Council. The first elections to the authority were on 22 May 2014 and it acted as a shadow authority, prior to the creation of the Ards and North Down district on 1 April 2015. The district was originally called "North Down and Ards" but the council was known as "Ards and North Down District Council". Councillors on the transitional shadow authority (prior to the council's official creation) voted on 15 December 2014 to submit an application to the Department of the Environment to change the name to ''East Coast Borough Council'' with effect from 1 April 2015. Negative public reaction to the proposed name prompted a rethink. The district name "Ards and North Down" was not finalised until 2016. The transfer of the borough charter from North Down Borough Council North Down Borough Council was a Local Coun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciara Mageean
Ciara Mageean ( ) (born 12 March 1992) is a middle-distance runner from Portaferry in Northern Ireland who specialises in the 1500 metres. She is a three-time European Athletics Championship medallist at the event, with bronze in 2016 and silver in 2022 outdoors, and bronze in 2019 indoors. Mageean won also silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She earned three silver medals at World and European level in the Under-18 and U20 age groups. Mageean represented Ireland at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She holds four Irish records and is a multiple national champion. Career Ciara Mageean won silver medals at the 2009 World Youth (800 metres) and 2010 World Junior (1500 metres) Championships. She added the 1500 m silver from the 2011 European Junior Championships. Her first senior international competition saw her finish 10th in the 1500 m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, representing Northern Ireland. She didn’t run at all as an under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of RNLI Stations
Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) stations are the bases for the RNLI's fleet of search and rescue lifeboats that cover the coastal waters around the entire British Isles, as well as major inland waterways. The service was established in 1824 and is operated largely by volunteers. Its headquarters are at Poole, Dorset and it is a registered charity in both the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Key Lifeboat types The types of boats provided at each station and the launching methods vary depending on local needs. If more than one boat is provided they are sometimes stationed in separate buildings at different locations in the same town. Current RNLI boats fall into three broad groups: * All weather lifeboats (ALBs): , , , , and . * Inshore lifeboats (ILBs): , , and * Hovercraft: ''H''-class Launch methods The principal launching methods are: * Carriage – an ALB or ILB is pushed into the water on a carriage by a tractor * Davit – an ALB or ILB is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Towns And Villages In Northern Ireland
This is an alphabetical list of towns and villages in Northern Ireland. For a list sorted by population, see the list of settlements in Northern Ireland by population. The towns of Armagh, Lisburn and Newry are also classed as cities (see city status in the United Kingdom). The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) uses the following definitions: * Town – population of 4,500 or more ** Small Town – population between 4,500 and 10,000 ** Medium Town – population between 10,000 and 18,000 ** Large Town – population between 18,000 and 75,000 * Intermediate settlement – population between 2,250 and 4,500 * Village – population between 1,000 and 2,250 * Small villages or hamlets – population of less than 1,000 Towns are listed in bold. __NOTOC__ A Acton, Aghacommon, Aghadowey, Aghadrumsee, Aghagallon, Aghalee, Ahoghill, Aldergrove, Altamuskin, Altishane, Altmore, Annaclone, Annaghmore, Annahilt, Annahugh, Annalong, Annsborough, Antrim, Ardboe, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MV Portaferry II
MV ''Portaferry II'' is a passenger and car ferry operated by Transport NI. This ferry serves the Portaferry–Strangford ferry route across the mouth of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland, a service which has been in operation since the 12th century. History After years of service, MV ''Strangford Ferry'', which was launched on 6 September 1969, began to show signs of age. A second, smaller ship, MV ''Portaferry Ferry'', also operating on the Portaferry - Strangford route, had insufficient capacity to take over full service for route, so a new ship was needed. This new vessel was the ''Portaferry II'', built by McTay Marine of Merseyside, at a cost of a £2.7 million. She entered service on 18 December 2001, replacing the aging MV ''Portaferry Ferry'' and relegated the MV ''Strangford Ferry'', to a support role. Details The ''Portaferry II'' has a gross tonnage of 312 tons, a hull length of , a beam of , a draught of and a capacity of 260 passengers and 20 cars. She is prope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wave Power
Wave power is the capture of energy of wind waves to do useful work – for example, electricity generation, water desalination, or pumping water. A machine that exploits wave power is a wave energy converter (WEC). Waves are generated by wind passing over the sea's surface. As long as the waves propagate slower than the wind speed just above, energy is transferred from the wind to the waves. Air pressure differences between the windward and leeward sides of a wave crest and surface friction from the wind cause shear stress and wave growth. Wave power is distinct from tidal power, which captures the energy of the current caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon. Other forces can create currents, including breaking waves, wind, the Coriolis effect, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. As of 2022, wave power is not widely employed for commercial applications, after a long series of trial projects. Attempts to use this energy began in 1890 or earlier, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tidal Energy
Tidal power or tidal energy is harnessed by converting energy from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity using various methods. Although not yet widely used, tidal energy has the potential for future electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than the wind and the sun. Among sources of renewable energy, tidal energy has traditionally suffered from relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability. However, many recent technological developments and improvements, both in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology (e.g. new axial turbines, cross flow turbines), indicate that the total availability of tidal power may be much higher than previously assumed and that economic and environmental costs may be brought down to competitive levels. Historically, tide mills have been used both in Europe and on the Atlantic coast of N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SeaGen
SeaGen was the world's first large scale commercial tidal stream generator. It was four times more powerful than any other tidal stream generator in the world at the time of installation. It was successfully decommissioned by SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited in summer 2019, having exported 11.6GWh to the grid since 2008. The first SeaGen generator was installed in Strangford Narrows between Strangford and Portaferry in Northern Ireland. Strangford Lough was also the site of the first known tide mill in the world, the Nendrum Monastery mill where remains dating from 787 have been excavated. History Marine Current Turbines, the developer of SeaGen, demonstrated first prototype of tidal stream generator in 1994 with a 15 kilowatt system in Loch Linnhe, off the west coast of Scotland. In May 2003, the prototype for SeaGen, '', was installed off the coast of Lynmouth, North Devon, England. Seaflow was a single rotor turbine which generated 300 kW but was not conne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birdwatching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using formal scientific methods. Birding, birdwatching, and twitching The first recorded use of the term ''birdwatcher'' was in 1901 by Edmund Selous; ''bird'' was introduced as a verb in 1918. The term ''birding'' was also used for the practice of ''fowling'' or hunting with firearms as in Shakespeare's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1602): "She laments sir... her husband goes this morning a-birding." The terms ''birding'' and ''birdwatching'' are today used by some interchangeably, although some participants prefer ''birding'', partly because it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portaferry GAC
Portaferry GAC ( ga, Port An Pheire) is a GAA Club in the East of Down in the Ards Peninsula. It is one of three Senior Hurling Clubs in Down, the other two being Ballygalget GAA and Ballycran GAA. History The depth of the hurling tradition in the Ards can be gauged from the fact that the game was first played on the Peninsula as early as 1900 by Portaferry Carraig Uladh. But it was Ned Purcell, an agricultural inspector from Tipperary, who laid the real foundations between 1912 and 1917. His influence not only left Portaferry with the Tipp colours, but also Tipperary skills and love of the game. Locals such as John Emerson, John McCullough, John and Eddie Dumigan and Fr Toal carried on where Ned left off and such was the interest that 4 teams from Portaferry competed in the Ards Gaelic Association during the early Twenties. Thiswas rewarded with Carraig Uladh's first S.H.C. title in 1926 and their winning of the Antrim League title in 1929. The tradition was sustained, in bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurling
Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players and much terminology. The same game played by women is called camogie ('), which shares a common Gaelic root. The objective of the game is for players to use an ash wood stick called a hurley (in Irish a ', pronounced or ) to hit a small ball called a ' between the opponent's goalposts either over the crossbar for one point or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for three points. The ' can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked, or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass), for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the ' on the end of the stick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball and rounders. The association also promotes Irish music and dance, as well as the Irish language. As of 2014, the organisation had over 500,000 members worldwide, and declared total revenues of €65.6 million in 2017. The Games Administration Committee (GAC) of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) governing bodies organise the fixture list of Gaelic games within a GAA county or provincial councils. Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular activities promoted by the organisation, and the most popular sports in the Republic of Ireland in terms of attendances. Gaelic football is also the second most popular participation sport in Northern Ireland. The women' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
