By Conor Sheils
April 17, 2025 at 6:00am BST
Petrolheads set to flock to the seaside towns of Portrush and Portstewart on Easter Sunday for an annual car cruise have left locals ‘scared’ amid reports of antisocial behaviour – but car enthusiasts insist they mean no harm.
The neighbouring seaside towns have long been a popular location for car enthusiasts to gather at weekends and on Easter Sunday for the annual car cruise.
Social media profiles, including the Port Car Scene group, have been promoting the return of Port Sundays and the Easter Sunday cruise with TikTok videos showing modified and classic cars in the area gaining tens of thousands of views.
Councillor Richard Stewart told The Irish News that locals are scared ahead of the event amid reporting of abuse and egging by some participants among other antisocial behaviour.
“Portrush is a small peninsula town. It’s always going to be busy over Easter, and there’s always going to be traffic,” he said.
“It’s difficult to stop because it’s not an official event.
“But this isn’t just an Easter problem – it happens every Sunday from around St Patrick’s Day until mid-September, especially when the weather’s good.
“Some businesses now close early on Sundays because they’re not getting the same footfall.
“We always say everyone is welcome – but we ask that people are respectful when they visit.”
Speaking about the issues surrounding the event, he said that the antisocial element is in part down to a lack of police resources on the ground.
“The backfiring cars are frightening people,” he said.
“We’ve had incidents of eggs being thrown from cars, passers-by being sprayed with water pistols, and people shouting abuse out of windows.
“Look, I get it – I was 19 or 20 once, driving around in my wee done-up car. But back then there was more respect – for the place and for people. And there was a much stronger police presence. Now, you’re lucky to see a police car at all.
“The police just don’t have the resources anymore.
“We’re not telling people not to come – but we are asking them to be respectful of residents and the local community.
“We say we’re welcoming people to our town – but a lot of people here are scared.”
In recent weeks, police have issued warnings they will seize cars in Portstewart and Portrush with checks set up to flout anyone breaking the law.
When asked about the reports of anti-social behaviour, Rhys Lockhart of Port Car Scene told The Irish News that he acknowledged there had been some problems.
“Of course, there’s always going to be a few who spoil it for everyone else,” he said.
“We actually get a lot of support from local businesses – chip vans and food spots. I know some people feel we’re a nuisance because of the traffic, but there are definitely businesses that benefit from the cruise.
“We always stress the importance of respecting the area and the people who live here.
“The Easter cruise has been running for over 30 years, we don’t claim to be the owners of it, it is just something that was happening before, and we have been promoting through our page.”
Mr Lockhart went on to say that while it was too late to organise in time for next Sunday – he hoped that the group could work with the local council in order to make it an event for all next year.
“We want to make it an event everyone can enjoy.
“We’d love to work with the council to organise things properly and make it something everyone’s happy with.”
While many have criticised the car cruising scene for anti-social elements, Mr Lockhart instead said that the cruises were a positive outlet for many youngsters.
“We’ve people coming from England, Poland, Germany – the Irish car scene is known all over the world,” he said.
“For many, the car scene is an escape, it is their hobby.
“You’ll see people in the scene who pour their heart and soul into their cars and they are spending their money on that rather than spending it on drugs or drink.
“Sometimes you’ll get younger lads who’ve just passed their test and want a car that makes a lot of noise. But we see ourselves as genuine car enthusiasts. We take pride in our vehicles – we’re really passionate and look after them.”
by pickneyboy3000
16 comments
Slow news day?
Is there not always a car cruise to the Port each Easter?
Edit: yep article contains:
>The Easter cruise has been running for over 30 years
I get it, as a formerly young petrol head, Easter Sunday was something you never thought you’d see locally. Thousands upon thousands of cars all meeting up for the shared passion of cars.
Like absolutely everything in life however, the minority give the majority a bad name.
So before everyone jumps on their “bunch of XYZ”, remember, tastes differ, and just because it’s not your cuppa, doesn’t mean it isn’t for a massive crowd. Condemn the dicks being irresponsible, not the crowd.
They do make portrush unbearable when they’re up, completely ruins what would be one of the busiest weekends for businesses and the constant noise is a pain in the ass. But they should have somewhere to meet, not sure ramore head is it though, there’s the NW200 staging area round the corner that lies empty that would be perfect for them. They’re up the North Coast and not bringing the towns to a standstill.
>Some businesses now close early on Sundays because they’re not getting the same footfall.
I wouldn’t close my shop I’d adjust to the new market conditions, sell elf bars or stickers with witty culchie slogans to go on a rear windows.
>Look, I get it – I was 19 or 20 once,
Aye but were you good craic or shite craic 🧐
Residents ‘scared’ …really 🙄🤣
Ah jesus the annual whingers are out again. So it’s okay for the town to become a standstill for the Open or the Airshow but god forbid car guys have a single day. And businesses profit plenty off the vast amount of people that attend it year upon year.
Yes sure there are usually a few bellends spoiling it for others but unfortunately that’s human nature and the same bs happens at any other similarly sized event.
If the police would just focus on getting rid of the total morons and not just using it as an excuse to get their stupid DVA van out then it would be a far better day for everyone.
Do they bring much business to the town? Thats the determining factor. Or do they just live off clouds of vape smoke
Portstewart prom needs pedestrianised. The noise and fumes are zero craic when the cruisers come through
Annoying, absolutely, but scary? People are awful easily spooked.
It’s been happening since the 80’s, I first went there around 1990
Sunday cruise in Port is the law!
A sprinkling of drawing pins on the road might solve the problem
Where else would you see supercars driving around in procession with shitty Bora’s and is200’s though…
They just took a story about something that happens every year in Portrush and added “TikTok” to the headline to make it sound scarier to boomers.
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Call it an “orange” car cruise and they’ll swiftly f**k up!
Organisers might even be eligible for some kultural grants and whatnot.
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