NEWS

Jordan Herron of Larne Athletic Club won the men’s race at the 2026 Saint-Gobain Exterior Solutions Larne 10 Mile Race. Jordan is pictured crossing the line in a time of 54:15. (All photographs by Presseye/Stephen Hamilton) A record number of runners from across Northern Ireland and beyond lined the County Antrim coast on Saturday as the 2026 Saint-Gobain Exterior Solutions Larne 10 Mile Race delivered its biggest event to date, with local athlete Jordan Herron and Pamela Ki

Kathryn McKay with husband Mark, and daughters Isla and Grace. What began as a lump discovered without warning has become a story of resilience, friendship and gratitude, as Ballymena mother-of-two Kathryn McKay prepares to turn one of the darkest chapters of her life into a night of hope for other families facing cancer. This Saturday evening, 11 April , Kathryn — alongside close friend Lauren Herbison — is inviting the local community to come together for A Night at the R

The BEAM team and local volunteers gathered cleanup, community and craic in Ballymoney! More than 50 people from across Ballymoney turned out for a community litter pick at Riverside Park, in a strong show of local spirit that organisers say was about far more than clearing rubbish from public spaces. The event, organised by BEAM – Building Empowerment & Awareness to Mind – took place on Tuesday 31 March and brought together people of all ages from across the town, with volun

Music inspired by the land, the seasons and the lived experiences of Northern Ireland’s farming community is set to take centre stage in Ballymena later this month as Farmers’ Choir NI prepares for its upcoming Spring Concert at The Braid Arts Centre. The choir has announced that the special performance will take place on Wednesday 29th April at 8:00pm , promising an uplifting evening of music and storytelling rooted in the heart of rural life. Set in one of Ballymena’s best-

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has called for a reappraisal of the recently halted redevelopment project at Ronán’s Way in Cushendun. Independent councillor Margaret Anne McKillop said the landowner at Ronán’s Way had been awaiting a lease agreement with the council, which would have allowed the £225,100 redevelopment scheme to move forward. Last month’s Leisure and Development Committee meeting approved PEACEPLUS funding for two elements of the Layde Path, Cottage

Power NI representative Natalie McCrory pictured with Michelle McCormack (Drake Music CEO) and Drake Music volunteers, participants, and parents . Power NI has donated £1,000 to Drake Music NI in a move set to expand access to cutting-edge music technology for hundreds of people across Northern Ireland, helping those with physical and cognitive disabilities create and perform music in new ways. The funding, awarded through the energy provider’s Brighter Communities initiative

Promoting a three-day health check event at Ballymena Livestock Mart, back in 2010, before the official launch of a Northern Ireland wide Farm Families Health Checks service, Dr Brian Hunter, Kate Cairns (UFU), Yvonne Carson, and Sam McNabney, Ballymena Livestock Mart. The Northern Health and Social Care Trust is marking 20 years of dedicated work to improve the health and wellbeing of rural communities, with a legacy that has grown from local pilot projects into region-wide

Housing Executive Staff and members of the Cloughmills Community Action Team, winners of the Cleaner and Greener Award sponsored by Northern Ireland Housing Council in the Housing Executive’s Rural Community Awards. Included are (back row, left to right) Noleen Connolly Housing Executive District Manager, Clare Lawlor, Arts Care, Jim Whitten, Cloughmills Community Action Team, Marie Semple and Eoin McKinney Housing Executive Rural Unit. (Front row, left to right), Freda McKni

A safety initiative already supported by around 300 hospitality venues across Northern Ireland is set to be extended to shops in Ballymena. Retail staff in the town are to receive training as part of the Ask for Angela scheme, which provides a discreet way for people to seek help if they feel unsafe, threatened or vulnerable. Speaking at an online recent meeting of the Mid and East Antrim Policing and Community Safety Partnership, PSNI Chief Inspector Siobhan Watt said the

Northern Ireland Ambulance Servi ce staff Estelle Smyth, Michael Patterson , and Derek Hamilton supporting Northern Trust colleagues on tree planting initiative Holywell Hospital in Antrim is set to undergo a major environmental transformation under a new Northern Health and Social Care Trust scheme that will see 7,000 native trees planted across the site over the next seven years. The large-scale planting programme, announced as part of the Trust’s wider sustainability strat

Children in Northern Ireland are still afforded less legal protection from physical harm than adults because parents and carers can continue to rely on the defence of “reasonable punishment” , the NSPCC has warned, as pressure mounts for Stormont to amend the law through the Justice Bill. The children’s charity is urging all political parties to back an amendment currently tabled at the Northern Ireland Assembly which would remove what it describes as an outdated legal defenc

Pregnant women are being urged to stay away from lambing sheds, calving pens and all animals giving birth as the busy spring farming season gets under way, with the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland warning that even limited exposure can pose serious risks to both mother and unborn baby. The urgent warning comes as farms across Northern Ireland enter one of the most demanding periods of the year, with lambing and calving now in full swing. While the number of p

A railway bridge in Ballymena where concerns were raised over alleged drug and alcohol use Mid and East Antrim community groups have been urged to take part in a “walk and talk” with the PSNI in a bid to help reduce crime in their local areas. Speaking at a recent online meeting of Mid and East Antrim Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) , Chief Inspector Siobhan Watt outlined an initiative that has already been rolled out in the borough as part of the PSNI’s Pro

Cloughmills Early Years, County Antrim Nine families in Cloughmills have been left without a place at the village’s only nursery setting, triggering growing anger among parents, staff and elected representatives who say children are being forced out of their own community despite space being available locally. The dispute centres on Cloughmills Early Years, the only local nursery provision serving the village outside Ballymena, where demand for places has outstripped the numb

The poster placed at two roadside junctions in Ballycastle, and inset, TUV MP Jim Allister and Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan Political placards which had become the focus of local concern in Ballycastle have been removed following intervention by the Department for Infrastructure, prompting a fresh political row over standards for public displays in the town. The signs, located at the junction of Mary Street and Cushendall Road, were taken down after North Antrim MP Jim Allis

Evelyn Harris from Ballymena achieved six Distinctions in her VetSkill VTEC Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Companion Animal) course which she studied at CAFRE. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has celebrated the achievements of its latest veterinary care and veterinary nursing graduates, with Ballymena among the towns represented by top-performing learners recognised at a major awards ceremony in Antrim. Held at Greenmount Campus on Friday

The number of babies born in Northern Ireland continued its long-running downward trend through 2025, while newly published provisional figures also point to rising three-year averages for suicide and drug-related deaths. The latest Registrar General Quarterly Report, published on Monday by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), provides a detailed snapshot of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships recorded between 1 October and 31 December 202

Garden enthusiasts from across the borough and beyond are being invited to Antrim Castle Gardens this month for a free spring event featuring thousands of plants, specialist growers and expert advice, as Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council launches the countdown to one of Northern Ireland’s best-known home and garden showcases. The Spring Plant Fair will take place on Saturday 11 April 2026, running from 10am to 5pm in the picturesque Parterre Gardens at Antrim Castle Gar

Students from St Oliver Plunkett Primary School Toome are pictured on their recent tour of NI Water’s Moyola Water Treatment Works. With World Health Day fast approaching on Monday, 7 April, NI Water is once again opening the doors of its water treatment works to schools across Northern Ireland, offering pupils a rare opportunity to see first-hand the science and expertise that keeps the region’s drinking water safe. The initiative comes as this year’s global World Health Day

One of the North Coast’s most eagerly anticipated community events is officially back, with organisers confirming that the Portrush RNLI Raft Race 2026 will take place on Saturday 23 May. The much-loved annual fundraiser, which draws rafters, families and spectators from across the area, is once again being staged in aid of RNLI Portrush, with entries now officially open. Organisers say the event is “all systems go” , with extensive planning already under way behind the scene