# 2025 in Northern Ireland

Events from the year 2025 in Northern Ireland.

## Incumbents

* First Minister of Northern Ireland: Michelle O'Neill
* Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland: Emma Little-Pengelly
* Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Hilary Benn

## Events
### January

* 1 January –
** Responsibility for regulating medicines in Northern Ireland returns to UK authorities under the Windsor Framework, with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) having UK-wide responsibility for the licencing of medicines.
** The Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for ice as temperatures are set to fall overnight on 1–2 January.
* 2 January – Archaeologists announce they have discovered the remains of a courtyard and building complex dating back at least 300 years on the Castle Ward estate in County Down.
* 4 January – A statue of musician Rory Gallagher is unveiled at Belfast's Ulster Hall.
* 6 January – Criminal barristers in Northern Ireland begin a four-week strike, withdrawing their services from legally-aided court cases in a dispute over legal aid.
* 10 January – A man is charged in connection with the shooting of an off-duty police officer in County Antrim on 6 January. He is remanded in custody the following day, charged with nine offences including attempted murder.
* 12 January – A ceremony is held in Madrid's Cathedral of Alcala de Henares to recognise Sister Clare Crockett, a nun from Derry who was killed during an earthquake in Ecuador in 2016, as a candidate for sainthood.
* 13 January – Addressing reporters as Stormont reconvenes after the Christmas break, First Minister Michelle O'Neill describes the pressure on Northern Ireland's health service as "dire and diabolical".
* 15 January – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells the House of Commons the UK government will look at "every conceivable way" to prevent Gerry Adams, the former President of Sinn Féin, from receiving compensation after it emerged that repealing the Troubles Legacy Act could allow him to claim compensation for unlawful detention during the 1970s.
* 16 January –
** Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic announce restrictions on animal imports from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.
** The White House confirms that former Democratic Unionist Party MP Ian Paisley will attend the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington.
* 17 January –
** The Court of Appeal upholds the convictions of George Kirkpatrick, Eric Cullen and Cyril Cullen, known as the Castlewellan Three, for the murder of Catholic teenager Francis Rice in Castlewellan in 1975. The men, who served 14 years in prison, have always denied responsibility for the crime.
** A "significant" fire breaks out at a recycling plant in Coleraine in the early hours of the morning. The Fire Service later concludes the blaze started accidentally.
** The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs confirms that bird flu has been found in three wild birds in Northern Ireland, the first occurrence of the illness in the wild since 2023.
* 20 January –
** Northern Ireland's civil servants are offered a 9% pay deal, with a 3% rise backdated to August 2024, and a 6% pay rise from August 2025.
** Following his conviction at Dublin's Central Criminal Court in December, Irish Defence Force soldier Kielan Mooney, who is from Derry, is sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for the rape of a female colleague at a hotel in Dublin.
* 22 January – The Department for Infrastructure launches a consultation on whether MoT tests for some private cars, motorcycles and light goods vehicles should be changed to every two years.
* 25 January – Sinn Féin lifts its suspension on Belfast City Councillor JJ Magee following an investigation by the Local Government Commissioner for Standards.
* 28 January –
** A public inquiry begins into the 1998 Omagh bombing.
** BBC News reports that planned changes at BT's Belfast headquarters could mean the loss of 90 jobs.
* 29 January – The High Court clears retailer Lidl to open its first in store pub, to be situated in Dundonald, County Down, after rejecting a legal challenge to the plans from another trader.
* 30 January – Two schoolchildren are treated for minor injuries after the bus they are travelling on collides with a fallen tree on a road near Lisburn.
* 31 January – Teachers in Northern Ireland are offered a 5.5% pay increase, backdated to 1 September 2024.

### February

* 3 February – Economy Minister Conor Murphy steps down from the post and announces he will leave Stormont after being elected to the Irish Seanad. Caoimhe Archibald is appointed to replace him as Economy Minister.
* 5 February – Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council confirms it is to go ahead with plans to introduce parking charges at four car parks on the north coast.
* 6 February –
** An inquest into the February 1992 shooting of four Provisional IRA men by the SAS at Clonoe, County Tyrone, finds the use of force against them was unjustified.
** The High Court rules that Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson acted "ultra vires" by reaching conclusions that amounted to determinations of misconduct by her findings in reports into three Troubles-era killings. Anderson subsequently says she will appeal the decision.
** The majority of teaching staff in Northern Ireland have rejected a 5.5% pay increase, and voted to take industrial action that falls short of striking.
* 13 February – Organisers of Pride events in Northern Ireland have said political parties who supported a ban on the sale or supply of puberty blockers to under 18s will not be invited to events.
* 14 February – Kevin Barry McIntyre, who was convicted of posting abusive messages online about Lilian Seenoi-Barr, Northern Ireland's first black mayor, is sentenced to five months in prison.
* 15 February –
** Research published by the Northern Ireland Assembly indicates Northern Ireland to be the "least diverse" part of the United Kingdom.
** Anne Marie McAleese presents her final edition of BBC Radio Ulster's Your Place And Mine, which she has presented since 1991.
* 16 February – Around 64,000 birds are being culled after avian flu was discovered at a poultry farm in Dungannon, County Tyrone, on 14 February.
* 17 February – Social Democratic and Labour Party leader Claire Hanna announces that the party will decline any invitations to the White House for St Patrick's Day celebrations due to Donald Trump's stance on the Gaza conflict.
* 18 February – Soldier F, the British paratrooper charged with two counts of murder and five of attempted murder during the Bloody Sunday massacre, will stand trial in September, a judge has said.
* 19 February – Plans for a new £671m 177-bed children's hospital within the grounds of Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital are given the go-ahead.
* 20 February –
** The findings of the inquest into the Clonoe shootings are to be referred to Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions.
** The Met Office issues two yellow weather warnings for high winds, covering 21 and 23 February.
* 21 February – Sinn Féin confirms it will boycott St Patrick's Day events at the White House over US President Donald Trump's stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
* 23 February –
** A man is taken to hospital following a shooting incident in the Bell Steel Manor area of Dunmurry in west Belfast.
** 16,000 birds at a poultry farm at Pomeroy, County Tyrone, are to be culled following the discovery of a suspected case of avian flu.
* 24 February –
** Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly confirms she will travel to Washington for St Patrick's Day celebrations at the White House.
** A third case of suspected bird flu is found in Country Tyrone, this time at a premises in Cookstown; 32,000 birds at the facility will be humanely destroyed.
* 25 February –
** The UK and Irish governments announce plans to explore formal engagement with paramilitary groups to help bring about their disbandment.
** Infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins tells Stormont that plans to extend Belfast's Glider bus service to the north and south of the city will be scaled back because they are "not economically viable".
* 27 February – Ministers agree a programme for government in Northern Ireland.

### March

* 2 March – A service of reflection is held in Newry to remember the nine Royal Ulster Constabulary officers killed in the 1985 Newry mortar attack.
* 3 March – The Stormont Executive's programme for government, titled Doing What Matters Most, is presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly following agreement by the Executive the previous week.
* 4 March – Belfast based IT firm Kainos announces it is making 190 people redundant through job cuts.
* 5 March – The Stormont Executive launches the process to appoint an Irish Language Commissioner and a Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and Ulster British tradition following criticism from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
* 7 March –
** During a hearing at Craigavon Crown Court, Stephen-Lee McIlvenny, 21, is sentenced to 23 years in prison after admitting 77 offences involving the sexual abuse and blackmail of three children.
** Connswater Shopping Centre in east Belfast is placed into receivership and set to close in two weeks if a buyer is not found.
* 8 March –
** The Department of Education is facing legal challenges over decisions by Education Minister Paul Givan to reject applications by two schools in County Down to become integrated.
** Belfast is announced as the host of the 2026 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (All-Ireland Fleadh), which will take place in August 2026.
* 9 March – Following an unseasonably warm spell of weather, the highest temperature of the year so far is recorded at Killowen, County Down, with a high of 17.2 °C.
* 13 March – Craig Rowland, who shook his infant son so violently it caused lifechanging injuries that led to the boy's death, is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years.
* 14 March – Former teacher Judith Evans is sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to grooming and sexual intercourse with a schoolboy; she is also placed on the sex offenders register for life.
* 19 March –
** Three men convicted of the murder of Ian Ogle in west Belfast are sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 20 years following a non-jury trial.
** The Natural Hazards Partnership issues an amber warning for possible wildfires for the following day when dry and breezy weather conditions are expected.

## Holidays

Source:
* 1 January – New Year's Day
* 17 March – Saint Patrick's Day
* 18 April – Good Friday
* 21 April – Easter Monday
* 5 May – Early May bank holiday
* 26 May – Spring May Bank Holiday
* 12 July – Orangemen's Day
* 4 August – Summer Bank Holiday
* 25 August – Summer Bank Holiday
* 25 December – Christmas Day
* 26 December – St Stephen's Day

## Deaths

* 10 January – Thelma Hopkins, 88, high jumper, Olympic silver medallist (1956).
* 22 January – Michael Longley, 85, poet (The Weather in Japan),
* 31 January – William Brown, 94, politician, MLA (1982–1986).
* 13 February – William Beattie, 82, politician.
* 21 February – Brendan McFarlane, 73, Irish republican activist.
* 17 March – Peter Farrelly, 76, Northern Irish musician (Fruupp). (death announced on this date)