2026 in Northern Ireland


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.
  • 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.
  • *Mike Nesbitt announces he is stepping down as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
  • 3 January –
  • *An easyJet flight from Belfast to Egypt is cancelled due to a "group of customers behaving disruptively onboard".
  • *Winter snow: Belfast Zoo is closed for the weekend, while some sports fixtures are affected by the adverse weather.
  • 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.
  • *A memorial service to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre takes place in the village of Bessbrook.
  • 5 January – More that 150 schools announce closures for Tuesday 6 January following fresh warning for ice.
  • 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.
  • *Teachers in Northern Ireland are offered a 4% pay rise for 2025–26, backdated to 1 September 2025.
  • 7 January – Two people are taken to hospital following a suspected gas explosion at a house in east Belfast.
  • 8 January –
  • *Jon Burrows, the MLA for North Antrim, enters the Ulster Unionist Party leadership race.
  • *A memorial garden is unveiled in east Belfast in tribute to former Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine on the 19th anniversary of his death.
  • 9 January –
  • *A major fire breaks out at an industrial estate in Bangor, County Down.
  • *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.
  • *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. The Northern Ireland Fire Service subsequently says that it believes the fire was accidental.
  • 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. The alert is subsequently cancelled on the morning of 11 January.
  • 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".
  • 13 January – Unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland accept a pay rise worth 4% for 2025–26.
  • 15 January –
  • *Laurelhill Community College in Lisburn, County Antrim, suspends 19 male pupils for a day for "disruptive and disrespectful behaviour".
  • *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.
  • 20 January – Following a trial at Derry Crown Court, John Garrett O'Sullivan, who stored his father's body in a refrigerator following his death in July 2024, is sentenced to three years in prison for the unlawfully preventing the burial of a body, with half of the sentence to be served in custody and half on licence.
  • 21 January – MPs at Westminster vote to remove from the Troubles Legacy Act that a measure providing conditional immunity from prosecutions for Troubles-era crimes.
  • 22 January – A £50m investment is announced for the Ulster Folk Museum.
  • 23 January –
  • *Belfast City Council's strategic and resources committee votes to suspend its use of X over concerns about the Grok AI tool, with the proposal to be put to the full council on 2 February.
  • *Following a trial at Belfast Crown Court, former teacher William Lloyd-Lavery is found guilty of indecently assaulting five girls at a South Belfast school during the 1970s.
  • 24 January –
  • *Three people are taken to hospital after getting into difficulty in the water at Helen's Bay beach.
  • *A Sinn Féin billboard near Newry that bears a pro-Palestine slogan is under investigation by council planners after being erected without permission.
  • 25 January – A woman in her 60s dies in hospital after getting into difficulty in water at Helen's Bay beach the previous day.
  • 26 January – It is announced that Northern Ireland will become the first part of the UK to introduce graduated driving licences in an attempt to reduce the number of fatal road crashes involving young people.
  • 27 January – Thousands of people are left without power, and 350 schools are closed for the day, following disruption caused by Storm Chandra.
  • 29 January – The Public Health Agency announces that Knockavoe Special School in Strabane, County Tyrone, will close for three days following an outbreak of scabies.
  • 30 January – Heavy rain causes widespread disruption across Northern Ireland.
  • 31 January – 2026 Ulster Unionist Party leadership election: Jon Burrows officially becomes leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.

February

Scheduled

Holidays

Deaths