Ballintoy Harbour
A short distance from Bendhu, Ballintoy Harbour reflects a legacy of maritime activity. For generations, it has been a hub for fishing, small-scale trade and the daily rhythms of coastal life. The cliffs and basalt formations surrounding the harbour challenge those who rely on it for sustenance and livelihood. While modern storytelling has transformed Ballintoy into the Iron Islands in Game of Thrones , its deeper significance lies in its historic role – a working harbour, a place where boats carrying fish, dulse, limestone and burnt lime, came and went, tying the community to the larger economic and
Lesley McIntyre
cultural fabric of Northern Ireland. The harbour’s people have navigated the challenges of coastal life since the last ice age, when the first settlers arrived over nine thousand years ago.
Lesley McIntyre
LESLEY MCINTYRE , Associate Professor of Architecture at Northumbria University, uncovers hidden histories and narratives of sites through her creative practice. Through drawing, photography, printmaking and writing, she explores the interplay of context, people, place and process. Before academia, she worked in architectural practice in Northern Ireland, Scotland and New York. Ultimately this project, Familiar Frontiers becomes more than a story; it displays the transformative power of travel. By bridging myth and memory, natural wonder and human ingenuity, this project uncovers overlooked stories and a deeper engagement with what is closest to us. Architecture and landscape ground us in shared stories, shaping how we connect to home . £ only as remnants of history but as living legacies, shaped by, and shaping, the lives of those who encounter them. As these spaces face the pressures of time, tourism and environmental change, they urge us to reflect on our role in preserving them not merely as landmarks but as symbols of shared identity.
Travel doesn’t have to mean crossing oceans; sometimes the most meaningful journeys are those that reveal the extraordinary in the familiar. This project re-imagines Northern Ireland’s north coast as a narrative landscape, where architecture, myth and memory intertwine to uncover stories of a shared heritage and a deep sense of belonging. Through photography, printmaking, and storytelling, it illuminates the living essence of these sites. The architecture of Northern Ireland’s north coast is not static; it evolves with the communities it serves. This journey has demonstrated that rediscovering the familiar transforms it into something profoundly new. We see these places not
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