Teams, tales and tips – a guide to the local game
For decades, fans have been passing through the port city of Larne in significant numbers but, until recently, they have been boarding ships bound for the football hubs of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. Even around this pleasant town of some 20,000 people on the east coast of County Antrim, an hour’s train ride from Belfast, locals would more often than not be wearing the blue shirts of perennial NIFL Premiership champions Linfield than the red ones of Larne FC.
But that all changed in 2017, when digital real-estate millionaire Kenny Bruce decided to act upon a request to help the club out at its moment of greatest need. Bottom of the second-tier Championship, their Inver Park ground threatened with closure and attendances barely inching into three figures, one of the oldest football clubs in Northern Ireland was looking at disaster.
But Bruce, whose Purplebricks empire had disrupted the property industry until he offloaded many of his shares that same year, was no hands-off sugar daddy. Having grown up in Larne but retaining his accent redolent of England’s industrial north, the entrepreneur was keen on giving something back to the community that had nurtured him.
As well as investing in new players who helped save Larne from the third flight that fateful 2017-18 campaign, he believed in the vision presented to him by first-time club manager Tiernan Lynch.
Although only a youth player at Cliftonville and Carrick Rangers, Belfast-born Lynch had learned his soccer coaching in America’s collegiate system. He returned with the firm belief that academies were vital to the game – so much so, in fact, that he helped set up the first full-time one in Northern Ireland. Once he had left the Glentoran coaching staff for the top job at struggling Larne in 2017, the club was approaching a decade in the wilderness.
Lynch helped convince Bruce of the value of investing in Larne as a community, creating an academy, employing the local workforce to rebuild the stadium and, most of all, attracting spectators to a convivial place to watch a football match, lounge bar and all.
Before all of these things were to happen, Lynch needed his team to produce results on the pitch, which they did, almost immediately going on a 22-game unbeaten run to win the Championship the following season. Larne kept on climbing, attendances rose, until by 2021, the club was making its European debut and embarking on international adventures no fan could have dreamed of back in 2017. A shock win over former Danish champions Aarhus was witnessed by a crowd of 850 – nearly 2,000 saw Larne’s epic battle two-hour battle with HJK Helsinki two years later, the tie switched to Belfast.
A few weeks before, Inver Park had been cloaked in darkness for the memorable title celebrations of 2023, fans lighting up the ground with their mobiles as the Inver Reds took the Northern Ireland title out of Belfast for the first time in 21 years. Not only that, but Larne had become everybody’s favourite second club, without the political baggage of the big boys of Belfast.
The next landmark occasion at Inver Park came in 2024. Needing to beat Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar to reach the group stage of the Conference League, Larne were pegged at an aggregate score of 3-3 when Scottish striker Andy Ryan hit a late clincher to rock the Church End Stand. Covered live by the BBC, the game not only allowed Larne to become the first side from Northern Ireland to reach the group stage of a European competition, it won over many more viewers watching.
It also helped Kenny Bruce cut lucrative sponsorship deals with international brands and, the following year, sell his remaining 50% share to Redball Global. Eight years on from his arrival, with two league titles, a string of European fixtures and a redeveloped stadium under his belt, his job was done.
Also departing was Tiernan Lynch, to Derry City in November 2024, halfway through a brave if doomed Conference League campaign. What has perhaps been more surprising since has been the success of local man Gary Haveron following in his footsteps. Crossing paths with Lynch at Glentoran, Haveron became academy director at Larne, where his son Alfie Mulvenna was coming through the ranks.
While Haveron was earning a Manager of the Year award by taking Larne to a third title in 2026, Mulvenna became the third Larne youngster to join Crystal Palace, a testament to the transformation that has taken place on the County Antrim coast.
As the club bids for outside funds to help complete the main stand at Inver Park, further evidence of its progress was provided by the demand for tickets in July 2026 for the glamour Euro fixture with Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League, a significant occasion not moved to Belfast but staged right here in Larne.
Getting here
Arriving in town and local transport
The nearest airports to Larne are Belfast International and Belfast City, both around 40km (25 miles) away. From Belfast International, the Air Express 300 bus runs to Stand 10 at Belfast Grand Central Station (£9, every 15-20mins, 50min journey time). From Belfast City, the Air Express 600 bus runs to Stand 20 at Belfast Grand Central Station (£5, every 20-30mins, 25min journey time). In both cases, you can pay contactless on board or pay at the ticket machines with cash or card.
A taxi from either airport direct to Larne should cost around £60-£70. Larne-based Bill’s Taxis (07709 572 056) offers airport transfers.
From Belfast Grand Central, trains leave for Larne (£10.50/day return £17, 1hr journey time). Larne (Town) station is a 5min walk into town and a 15min walk to the ground. Larne Harbour station one stop and 5mins down the line serves the seaport and hotels around it. Regular P&O and Stena Line ferries link to Cairnryan near Stranraer in Scotland, journey time 2hrs-2hrs 30mins, foot passenger fares around £60-£80.
Larne bus station is south of town, a short stroll to the ground.
Where to Drink
The best pubs and bars for football fans
Your first port of call should be Ruby’s Bodega, halfway along narrow Point St, close to the Laharna Retail Park that dominates the town centre. A busy pub open from 9am daily and until 1am three nights of the week, it screens big matches, pours a decent Guinness and puts on quiz nights.
Halfway to the harbour, within the Larne Town station building, the appropriately named Station Bar may look pretty meh from the outside but within, a cosy interior is filled with pool tables, dartboards, TV screens, attractive old advertising and lively banter.
Most other drinking haunts surround the harbour area. Close to Larne Harbour station, Olderfleet Bar & Lounge dates back to its time in the later 1800s as a hotel for boat passengers. Now a modern bar/restaurant with a large garden courtyard, it shows games and serves superior pub dishes.
Within the Curran Court Hotel round the corner, Katy Jane’s Bar & Restaurant welcomes non-residents prides itself on being the finest kitchen in town, but also runs a decent bar offering televised sport, live music and sharing platters.
Where to stay
The best hotels for the ground and town centre
Visit Larne has a database of local hotels and B&Bs.
Hotels and guest houses dot the harbour area. Best lodging in town, the 33-room Curran Court justifies its four-star status with room service, power showers in the en-suite bathrooms, plentiful on-site parking and a quality bar/restaurant in Katy Jane’s (see above). Pay a little extra and your stay comes with a sea view.
Budget-friendly B&Bs can be found further round the headland. On Olderfleet Road, the family-run Harbour Inn Larne comprises six en-suite guest rooms and a kitchen turning out hearty breakfasts and grilled dishes for lunch and dinner. Free parking, too.
Occupying a large white house near Curran Playpark, newly refurbished Seaview House B&B contains eight, comfortable en-suite rooms and a TV lounge, although all guests have their own screen. As well as free parking, there’s a cycle lock-up for those tackling the Causeway Coast.
