Coleraine

Town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on the River Bann, 6 km/4 mi from the sea; population (2001) 24,100. It is a market town with textile and food-processing industries and salmon fisheries. Coleraine is the site of the University of Ulster, which opened in 1968.

Coleraine was originally the site of a monastery dedicated to St Patrick, of which nothing remains. The present town owes its origins to the granting of lands to the London companies as part of the Londonderry plantation in the early 17th century.

The Mesolithic site at Mount Sandel, 2 km/1 mi to the south, has yielded much archaeological information. It was also the site of the stronghold of Fintan, who ruled Derry in the 1st century AD. During the 13th century a castle was built here by the historical prince of Ulster John de Courcy.