2026 in Northern Ireland

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2026
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Events from the year 2026 in Northern Ireland.

Incumbents

Events

January

  • 1 January – Provisional figures released by the Police Service of Northern Ireland indicate that 57 people were killed on Northern Ireland's roads during 2025.[1]
  • 2 January –
    • Two yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are issued for Northern Ireland, one for 2 January, and a second effective from 3 January to 5 January.[2]
    • Mike Nesbitt announces he is stepping down as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.[3]
  • 3 January –
    • An easyJet flight from Belfast to Egypt is cancelled due to a "group of customers behaving disruptively onboard".[4]
    • Winter snow: Belfast Zoo is closed for the weekend, while some sports fixtures are affected by the adverse weather.[5]
  • 4 January –
    • With a yellow weather warning for snow set to remain in place until midday on Monday 5 January, a number of schools that are due to return following the Christmas holiday announce they will remain closed for the day.[6]
    • A memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre takes place in the village of Bessbrook.[7]
  • 5 January – More that 150 schools announce closures for Tuesday 6 January following fresh warning for ice.[8]
  • 6 January –
    • Minister for Finance John O'Dowd publishes a draft multi-year budget covering 2026 to 2026–30 which, if approved by the Executive, would allow departments to plan longer term finances.[9]
    • Teachers in Northern Ireland are offered a 4% pay rise for 2025–26, backdated to 1 September 2025.[10]
  • 7 January – Two people are taken to hospital following a suspected gas explosion at a house in east Belfast.[11]
  • 8 January –
  • 9 January –
    • A major fire breaks out at an industrial estate in Bangor, County Down.[14]
    • A spokesman for the CCEA examination board says that unlike England, where school students taking GCSE exams will be able to receive their results online for the first time in 2026, there are no plans for this to happen in Northern Ireland.[15]
    • The Met Office issues a new yellow weather alert for snow in force from 5pm on Friday 9 January until 11am on Saturday 10 January.[16] The Northern Ireland Fire Service subsequently says that it believes the fire was accidental.[17]
  • 10 January – With the recent cold snap at an end, a yellow warning for rain comes into effect, lasting from 9pm on Saturday 10 January until 9pm on Sunday 11 January.[18] The alert is subsequently cancelled on the morning of 11 January.[19]
  • 12 January – Grok deepfake images controversy: Social Democratic and Labour Party MLA Cara Hunter, who was the victim of a deepfake video, quits social media platform X due to what she describes as a "complete negligence in protecting women and children online".[20]
  • 13 January – Unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland accept a pay rise worth 4% for 2025–26.[21]
  • 15 January –
    • Laurelhill Community College in Lisburn, County Antrim, suspends 19 male pupils for a day for "disruptive and disrespectful behaviour".[22]
    • Jon Burrows is the only candidate for the Ulster Unionist Party leadership election after deputy leader Robbie Butler announces he will not seek election to the post.[23]
  • 31 January – Voting is scheduled to take place in the 2026 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election.[24]

Scheduled

Holidays

Source:[26][27][28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Road deaths in NI: Fifty-seven people died in 2025". BBC News. BBC. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  2. ^ Glynn, Niall; Best, Barra (2 January 2026). "Weather warnings for snow and ice issued in Northern Ireland". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  3. ^ Gordon, Gareth (2 January 2026). "Ulster Unionist Party: Mike Nesbitt to stand down as leader". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  4. ^ "EasyJet: Belfast flight to Hurghada cancelled after police attend". BBC News. BBC. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  5. ^ Best, Barra; Glynn, Niall (2 January 2026). "Weather warnings for snow and ice issued in Northern Ireland". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  6. ^ "School closures due to weather in Northern Ireland". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  7. ^ Campbell, Cormac (4 January 2026). "Kingsmills murders: 'When dad came home it was in a coffin', daughter of victim". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ^ Fleck, Holly; Best, Barra (5 January 2026). "NI weather: New ice warning after schools and transport disrupted". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  9. ^ McCormack, Jayne (6 January 2026). "Stormont departments given funding proposals by finance minister". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  10. ^ Meredith, Robbie (6 January 2026). "NI Education: Teachers offered 4% pay rise". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Belfast: Two in hospital after suspected gas explosion". BBC News. BBC. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  12. ^ McCormack, Jayne (8 January 2026). "Jon Burrows joins race for UUP leadership". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  13. ^ Sharkey, Kevin (8 January 2026). "David Ervine: Memorial garden for former PUP leader opens". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  14. ^ Gibson, Chloe; Telford, Lyndsey (9 January 2026). "Bangor: Large fire breaks out at industrial estate". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  15. ^ Meredith, Robbie (9 January 2026). "GCSEs: Students in NI won't receive exam results online in August". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  16. ^ Best, Barra (9 January 2026). "Met Office issues snow and ice warning for Northern Ireland". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  17. ^ McKee, Ross; Sharkey, Kevin (10 January 2026). "Bangor: Fire service say industrial estate blaze was accidental". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  18. ^ Best, Barra (10 January 2026). "NI weather: Rain warning comes into effect with wind warning also issued". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  19. ^ Best, Barra (11 January 2026). "NI weather: Met Office cancels wind and rain warnings". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  20. ^ Wilson, David (12 January 2026). "Grok: Northern Ireland politician Cara Hunter quits X over AI concerns". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  21. ^ Meredith, Robbie (13 January 2026). "NI education: Teaching unions accept 4% pay rise". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  22. ^ Meredith, Robbie (15 January 2026). "Laurelhill: School suspends 19 teenage pupils for 'disrespectful behaviour'". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  23. ^ McCormack, Jayne (15 January 2026). "UUP: Jon Burrows looks set to become next leader". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  24. ^ "Ulster Unionist Party: New leader to be chosen this month". BBC News. 7 January 2026. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Soccerway". www.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  26. ^ "Northern Ireland Bank Holidays 2026". Public Holidays Global. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  27. ^ "Bank Holidays in Ireland 2026". BankHolidays.ie. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
  28. ^ "UK bank holidays". UK Government. Retrieved 2 December 2025.
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