Groomsport

Groomsport (from Irish Port an Ghiolla Ghruama 'port of the gloomy servant') is a village and townland near Bangor in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the south shore of Belfast Lough and on the north coast of the Ards Peninsula. Groomsport has a population of 1,220 people according to the 2021 census. It is part of the Ards and North Down Borough. Groomsport is a dormitory seaside and holiday village. Originally it was a small fishing village with the focus of development being the harbour and Main Street. Groomsport has developed as a centre for water and shore-based recreation with improved facilities for activities such as sailing and power boating. The Cockle Island Boat Club has its home here in the boat house on the pier. The village developed beside the natural sheltered harbour, between the shore, Ballymacormick Point and the rocky outcrop known as Cockle Island. The harbour is reputed to be of Viking origin and the beginnings of the small settlement can be traced to the 9th or 10th century. Groomsport remained a fishing village through the Victorian and Edwardian periods until the 1920s. Groomsport still retains the identity and character of a small harbour village with its pier and sheltered anchorage together with its historic street pattern.