The PORTICO of Ards

Over 50 of Portico's wonderful volunteers got together for our annual party on Friday 4th September. Great food and great craic were shared by great people - Portico could not operate without their brilliant support and dedication, thank you again to them all. 

If you would be interested in joining us and becoming a Portico volunteer send an email on [email protected] to find out more.

A big thank you to our volunteer photographer Arian McClure for providing the photo too.

Join in the celebration with European Heritage Open Days (EHOD) 2026, Northern Irelands annual festival of local architecture, history and culture! Taking place throughout September, European Heritage Open Days 2026 offers hundreds of free opportunities to explore hidden gems, discover fascinating stories and enjoy unique experiences across Northern Ireland.

As part of #EHOD2026, we're opening our doors for a unique opportunity for you to explore Portico's history as well as the building itself the with the guidance of our own Neil McClure who will be offering insight to the building's role in the Portaferry community over the years.

Sunday 13th September 2026
Two sessions starting at 14:00 and 15:00 respectively.
Free event
Learn more and plan your visit via the EHOD programme

Find out what's on:
Digital Brochure European Heritage Open Days 2026

Please note: While all European Heritage Open Days 2026 events are free to attend, some require advance booking.

Fancy a spot of choral singing?  Always thought that you might like to join a choir but never got around to it?

Now is the time to put that right.

The New Quay Singers is a group of singers of all levels of ability from those who can read music fluently to those who, to be perfectly honest, don’t have much of a clue about what’s going on…  If you can sing, you are welcome to come along.  We meet on Wednesday evenings at 7.30 in Rockport School in Craigavad and we perform three times a year in Portico.   We sing some fairly challenging stuff and its almost always from the great choral liturgical repertoire. 

Probably it’s the friendliest choir ever!

Interested – contact [email protected]