Other Links
You will find links below to external websites.
Website for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Museum & Heritage Service, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council
Other local museums
Local Attractions
Tours
Larne Art Club
Larne Art Club was first founded in 1940 with Mr James H Cathcart as Chairman, Mr Robert Beattie as Honorary Secretary and Captain John F Hunter as President.
The Larne Times of 5th November 1971 reported that “The club grew out of a summer sketching class for adults conducted at Larne Technical School in the mid-thirties, under Mr J H Cathcart, who was art master at the time...During the 2nd World War, the Club provided a common meeting place for people in the area, including HM Forces, to practice arts and discuss visual arts. The meetings were held in the old Technical School, Victoria Road and the club became an arts club with visiting lecturers giving talks and demonstrations on painting, pottery, puppetry, ballet, music, poetry, town planning, photography, folklore, architecture and play production.
Many well known names in the art world were visitors or members of the club, among them Kenneth Gilbert, James Agnew, Robert Beattie, Frank McKelvey, The Countess of Antrim, Doyly Cooper and R Morrow. In April 1950 the art club combined with Larne Drama Circle to present a dramatic reading of Gordon Bottomley’s verse drama, “Helen of Kirconnell” followed by “Verses, Grave and Gay” read by Edith Matthews.
Support diminished in the mid-fifties and the activities ceased.”
The Club reformed in December 1970 with Mr K O’Brian as Chairman and Mr J H Cathcart (Principal of Larne Technical College) as acting secretary, and has continued ever since.
The club is now resident in the Education Room of Larne Museum & Arts Centre where weekly art classes for members are held from September to May each year.
Everyone is welcome to attend demonstration evenings on the second Tuesday evening of each month (Sept-Nov and Feb-May) at 7.30pm. The club also holds an annual exhibition in the John Clifford Gallery of Larne Museum every March.
New members are always welcome. The club can be contacted via the Facebook link - Larne Art Club.
Larne Drama Circle
Larne Drama Circle was formed in 1949. On 27th May that year, a group of drama enthusiasts met in Ross's Café at the top of Larne's Main Street to discuss the possibility of forming a new drama club in the town. A public meeting confirmed the idea and Larne Drama Circle was officially established. The new society met weekly in the old King's Arms Hotel until 30th October 1952 when they moved to Carnegie Library, where the first floor had become vacant. Seventy years on, this is still their clubroom.
Larne Drama Circle now meets every Thursday evening (Sept-March) at 7.30pm in its custom built studio in the auditorium of Larne Museum & Arts Centre. Thursday nights consist mainly of developing acting and production skills and discussing plays, but the Circle also hosts theatre workshops and visits from other theatre companies or guests. The Circle produces and performs two public productions each year which are staged in the McNeill Theatre at Larne Leisure Centre. The list of productions has included comedies, thrillers, pantomimes and straight dramas and epics like 'A Christmas Carol', 'The Railway Children', and 'The Anastasia File'.
New members are always welcome. If you are interested in performing, producing or working behind the scenes you can find out more at the link below.
Larne Drama Circle on Facebook