Loughview Leisure Arena

Carrick Rangers 3-3 Dungannon Swifts

13th December 2025

Day Two of my Northern Ireland footy trip began with a brisk early morning walk from my Airbnb to Larne Town rail station to catch the train down to Carrickfergus; the plan being to take in Carrick Rangers' NIFL Premiership match with Dungannon Swifts that afternoon.

I had a few hours to kill beforehand so, after breakfast at Delacey's on North Street, I headed down to Carrickfergus Castle on the waterfront.  Admission was a very reasonable £4.50 - something similar in Scotland would probably have cost three times the price.

And it was a fun place to spend an hour or so of my life, with walls to clamber up and a keep to explore.
 

As it sez ... Carrickfergus Station

  There were a lot of murals around the town.
The place clearly is very proud of it's military connections...

 ... and it's royal ones.

    

This was another mural, commemorating the site of some important building or other.

  

From a distance, I initially thought this chap was being vomited on from above.

Carrickfergus Castle

   

Erection of the castle keep was begun in 1177, by one John de Courcey

    

This lady is Princess Affreca, John de Courcey's wife.

  

Although, strictly speaking, I don't think these walls were around when she was.

  

Into the keep, and a number of the rooms had interesting reconstructions of
how things may have been.

The wind howled around the keep - even with double glazing installed.

Then, after a wee wander around the marina, I made my way to Flame! The Gasworks Museum of Ireland.  But it was shut.  As, regretfully was The Carrickfergus Museum & Civic Centre - both being attractions I had pencilled in to visit.

Local Hero (at least to some of the populace) King William III has a statue just outside the castle.

 

There was an odd looking structure out on the harbour.

This was the Radar School Tower, once used to monitor shipping going up and down
Belfast Lough.  Derelict now, it serves as an umbrella for fishermen on the pier.

There were a few guys operating these model yachts.

I left the marina just as Santa was finishing the Carrickfergus Xmas Run Marathon.

Another mural.

Undaunted, I wandered along the waterfront to Marine Gardens and thence to The Knights installation in The Scotch Quarter (nothing to do with whisky).  

The Andrew Jackson Centre (15 minutes further along the coast) was next on the list.  But at this point the rain, which had just been playing got really serious, so plan B kicked in.  Which was to duck into the nearest pub (in this case Ownies Bar) for an early lunch.

We have a Churchill Tank at one end of Marine Gardens... 

...and a wee cafe with an art deco clock at the other.  

Further down the Larne Road, three metal knights flail away.

There were loadsa little Turnstones on the beach

 

The wind and rain was really getting up...

...so it was time for lunch.

And here I got settled, with a fine bowl of Pumpkin Soup and some Guinness, and sat until it was time for the fitba'.

3-3 the match finished, and I think a draw was just about right.  Two mid-table sides down each doing their best to play football in conditions best described as blustery, bordering upon gale force.  

Danny GIBSON's 37th minute strike, which brought the home side level on 1-1 was probably the pick of the goals, I felt.  He coolly putting away a fine defence splitting pass from ....ermm...  somebody.

Although Sean McALLISTER's stoppage time-strike which denied Rangers all three points was, in it's way, almost equally impressive.

 

Loughview Leisure Arena

Loughview Leisure Arena, like Larne's Inver Park, is only developed on three sides.
I found it odd the players did their pre-kick off lining up thing in front of this hut,
rather than in front of the main stand.

Carrick's Joe Crowe took a whack in the back, and had to be replaced early on.

The "Spirit of '76" reference pertains to Carrick's winning of the
Irish Cup that season, whilst still a non-senior club.

 

  

Sean McALLISTER's stoppage time equaliser makes it 3-3

...and so back hame.