NEWS

Proud winners - the Travelmax Ballymena team. A family-run Ballymena business has made history after being named the UK & Ireland’s top travel agency — the first time a Northern Ireland company has ever secured the industry’s highest honour. Travelmax, a female-led agency marking its 25th year in business, claimed the overall title at the prestigious TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies Awards, alongside two additional major accolades, in a landmark night for the local firm. The awards

(L-R) Kiran Minhas, Principal Katy Lynas Craig and Clare McGall A Ballymena nursery school has become the first in Northern Ireland to receive the highest level of recognition for its approach to children’s emotional wellbeing, marking a significant milestone in early years education across the region. Ballymena Integrated Nursery School has been awarded ‘gold standard’ Togetherness school accreditation — the top tier of a UK-wide scheme led by NHS-backed emotional health exp

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt with kinship carers. L-R Ruth McGuigan; Scot Hamilton; Anita Montgomery; Thomas Spence; Tracey McGuire; Brenda Slowey; Health Minister Mike Nesbitt; Kerrylee Weatherall, Interim Executive Director of Social Work. Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has paid tribute to the “compassion and commitment” of kinship foster carers as Northern Ireland marks its first dedicated Kinship Care Celebration Week, shining a spotlight on the thousands of relatives and f

Award winner is Mark McGuire, Lidl’s Supply Chain Analyst at Nutt's Corner RDC. A Lidl employee based at the company’s Nutts Corner Regional Distribution Centre has been recognised as one of the top performers across the island of Ireland, after securing a major national award celebrating inclusion and workplace culture. Mark McGuire, a Supply Chain Analyst, was named one of just six top award winners at Lidl’s 2026 National Achievement Awards, standing out among more than 6

Centra Frosses Road – Exceptional Performance in Food Safety (L-R) Catherine and Oran McCloskey, owners of Centra Frosses Road with store manager Cathie Carton, Joanne Bertenshaw Musgrave NI Food Safety & Quality Retail Co-ordinator, and host Pete Snodden. Retailers in Cloughmills, Kells, Ballymoney, Toomebridge and Larne have been placed firmly at the centre of this year’s Musgrave Northern Ireland ‘Store of the Year’ Awards, as nine County Antrim stores were recognised for

Rob with his wife Danielle and 5 sons (Alfie, Rueben, Jacob, Carter and Cooper) A Portstewart father-of-five who once faced a life-threatening stage 4 cancer diagnosis is preparing to take on one of Northern Ireland’s toughest endurance events — as he raises vital funds for a charity that supported him through his journey. Rob Humphrey will take part in the Mourne Wall Challenge on 15 August 2026 in aid of Cancer Focus Northern Ireland, drawing on his own experience of diagno

(L-R) Stephen Baillie, Treasurer, Ballymena Table Tennis Club, Martin Mann, Vice-Chair of Ballymena Branch of Parkinson’s UK, Winifred McHugh, member of the Ballymena Branch and Bran Shannon, member of Parkinson's Bat ‘n’ Chat in Ballymena. A community initiative supporting people living with Parkinson’s in Ballymena has received a timely boost, after Ballymena Table Tennis Club donated £480 to help sustain and grow the popular Bat ‘n’ Chat sessions. The funding will support

The winning team from the Rotary Club Generation Chef competition, are pictured with, from left, Georgie Briota, Business Development Manager at Galgorm Collection, Iris Houston, General Manager, Adair Arms Hotel, Gary Stewart, Judge and Chef Tartine of Distillers Arms, Chad Shaw, Northern Ireland Hospitality School, Samantha Wade, Quinn Merrigan, Northern Ireland Hospitality School, Eddie McGarvey, Judge and Chef at Salt House, Debbie Chestnutt, President of Ballymena Rotary

19-year-old Jamie Matthews from Antrim has been selected to represent the UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 A 19-year-old apprentice from Antrim is set to compete on one of the world’s biggest stages for vocational talent after being selected to represent the UK at WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 — a global contest where elite young professionals go head-to-head in high-pressure, precision-based challenges. Jamie Matthews, who is training with Mivan and studying a Level 3 Apprentice

Hannah Scott MBE who received the Freedom of the Borough at a special civic ceremony at Coleraine Town Hall. (Pics: Steven McAuley/ Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council) Coleraine’s Olympic gold medallist Hannah Scott MBE has been awarded the Freedom of the Borough — the highest civic honour available — in recognition of her historic achievement at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The honour was formally conferred by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council during a special

Ballymena man Colin Agnew reaches the Final of BBC NI’s Greatest Gardens A Ballymena gardener whose suburban home has been transformed into a hidden botanical wonderland has secured the fourth and last place in the upcoming final of BBC Northern Ireland’s Greatest Gardens, after impressing judges with a design described as full of “mystery and intrigue”. Colin Agnew, head gardener at Belfast’s Botanic Gardens , captured the attention of viewers and judges alike for his imagin

Members of the Dougies Goodies team with staff from Applegreen Ballymena A26, marking a 100 retail store partnership across Northern Ireland A Ballymena launch has marked a major milestone for one of Northern Ireland’s best-known local bakery brands, with Dougies Goodies officially opening at Applegreen Ballymena A26 as its 100th stockist location across Northern Ireland. The opening represents a significant moment for the fast-growing business, which says it is “thrilled” to

Ballymena Academy Year 11 pupils Samantha Dunlop and Katie McNeilly Two Ballymena Academy pupils have stepped into the fast-paced world of professional media and digital storytelling as they continue their journey as finalists in the 2026 ABP Angus Youth Challenge, combining science, agriculture and communications in a project with real-world relevance for Northern Ireland’s farming sector. Year 11 pupils Samantha Dunlop and Katie McNeilly are among the finalists in the prest

Asda Antrim raises funds for Dementia NI Asda Antrim has strengthened its support for the local community with backing for two separate initiatives — helping bring generations together in Randalstown through a community sports event and raising more than £6,000 for Dementia NI. The supermarket’s latest community efforts have seen Randalstown Ulster-Scots Society awarded a £600 grant through the Asda Foundation, while colleagues at the Antrim store have also completed a major

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

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

The Team at Elite Lighting & Interiors in Ballymena Elite Lighting & Interiors marks 25 years as one of Ballymena’s best-known home and lighting retailers, celebrating a quarter-century in the town centre with a special anniversary sale and a renewed focus on growth. The long-established Church Street business, which first opened in Easter 2001, is marking the milestone by thanking customers for more than two decades of support and inviting shoppers to join in celebrations r

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

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

Maire Claire Reid, Managing Director of TST Group, Ballymena Maire Claire Reid, Managing Director of TST Group , has been shortlisted for the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ Ireland 2026 programme, placing her among a select group of business leaders recognised for exceptional growth, innovation and leadership across the island of Ireland. The announcement marks a significant milestone for Reid and the international logistics business she co-founded with her family,