The word ‘peninsula’ comes from a Latin word which literally translates to “nearly an island.” It is essentially a stretch of land which protrudes from a mainland to be surrounded by water on most of its borders.
A larger example of a peninsula is Florida, or Italy. There are peninsulas on every continent on earth, and they are commonly used as tourist destinations, nature reserves or as places to place lighthouses for ships.
Portrush being a peninsula means that we have more coastal area than many other cities and town in the North Coast and so helps the popularity of the area as a holiday destination. It also helped the town establish itself as it makes it distinguishable and easy for boats and travellers and so attracted settlers.
As it stretches out into the water, it is naturally popular for fishing and we can see this in the successful salmon fishing history in Portrush. In fact, the name ‘Portrush’ is derived from the Irish ‘Port Rois’ which means the ‘port of the promontory’.
