NEWS

Derry’s riverfront is set to transform into a giant family playground this summer as the 2026 Foyle Maritime Festival prepares to bring four days of circus acts, tall ships, fireworks, science experiences and water adventures to the city. Running from Thursday June 25 to Sunday June 28, the festival will once again take over the quayside and River Foyle with one of the biggest public events in the north west calendar, drawing thousands of visitors to the city across an action

Inset: Interim chief executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust The interim chief executive of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust has acknowledged the publication of the Northern Ireland Audit Office report on the use of temporary nursing staff across Northern Ireland. Speaking at a meeting of the Trust board at Causeway Hospital, Coleraine, on Thursday morning, Suzanne Pullins said the report “sends out a very important message about reliance on temporary

Kilrea Primary School Kilrea Primary School is set for significant changes under newly-submitted plans that would bring a temporary specialist teaching unit to the site alongside major safety upgrades aimed at tackling what planners describe as “significant safeguarding concerns”. The proposals, lodged with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, centre on growing educational needs at the school as well as long-standing worries over pupil safety linked to access arrangement

Colette Sloan from Coleraine People across Northern Ireland are being urged not to ignore unusual moles or skin changes as the Northern Health and Social Care Trust marks Skin Cancer Awareness Month with a fresh warning about the dangers of delayed diagnosis. The Trust has teamed up with a local woman who discovered a suspicious mole after returning from holiday, as health professionals stress that early detection of skin cancer can save lives. Melanoma, while less common tha

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Ruairí McHugh said the festival had become one of the city’s defining events More than 100,000 visitors are expected to descend on Londonderry this summer as the Foyle Maritime Festival returns with a major expanded programme featuring Tall Ships, a giant waterfront wheel, fireworks, live entertainment and a brand-new illuminated river spectacle. Running from 25–28 June 2026, the internationally recognised festival

An elderly man and woman were left badly shaken after masked intruders tied them up during a terrifying overnight burglary at a home in County Londonderry. The ordeal unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning, 23 May, at a property in the Formoyle Road area of Macosquin, where a man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s were confronted inside their own home by two masked men. Police said the couple were ordered to hand over money before the intruders stole mobile phones, a

Police are deploying extra officers to beaches, parks and town centres across Northern Ireland this bank holiday weekend as warm weather is expected to bring a major surge in visitors to coastal hotspots and tourist areas. The PSNI said additional patrols will be visible across the North Coast, North Down and South Down over the sunny holiday weekend, with officers focusing on anti-social behaviour, alcohol-related disorder, dangerous driving and public safety. The move comes

22-year-old Cameron Mullen from Kilrea A 22-year-old man from Kilrea has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after police uncovered a series of online child sexual offences involving young teenage boys contacted through Instagram. Cameron Mullen was sentenced at Dungannon Crown Court on Wednesday, May 20, after pleading guilty to seven offences including sexual communication with a child and inciting children to engage in sexual activity online. The case emerged a

One of Northern Ireland’s fastest-growing outdoor festivals is preparing for its biggest year yet as thousands of visitors are expected to descend on Dungiven this summer for a three-day spectacle of world-class tractor pulling, major country music acts, fireworks and family entertainment. Revvv It Up Festival returns to Revvv Park in the heart of the Sperrins from Friday July 17 to Sunday July 19, with organisers dramatically expanding the event after rapid growth since its

VR Mesolithic hut from the Mountsandel virtual reality experience An internationally significant archaeological site in County Londonderry is set to undergo its first major survey in half a century, as experts prepare to dig deeper into the ancient secrets of Mountsandel. The new investigation at Mountsandel — regarded as one of Ireland’s earliest known human settlements — will form part of a wider heritage project backed through the Causeway Coast and Glens PEACEPLUS Action

Dr Martin Hanna, Consultant Paediatrician; Lesley Kennedy, Paediatric Asthma & Allergy Nurse Specialist and Anne Marie Campbell, Allergy Dietitian. Children waiting for specialist allergy care in the Northern Trust area are being seen faster after a series of additional evening clinics helped tackle lengthy paediatric waiting lists at Antrim Area Hospital. The extra clinics, funded by the Department of Health, were introduced specifically to reduce delays for children needing

Carhill Cars in Garvagh The owner of a County Londonderry car showroom destroyed in a suspected arson attack has described the devastation caused to his business as “gut-wrenching”, saying the premises now need to be completely demolished and rebuilt. Liam Rafferty, owner of Carhill Cars in Garvagh, said he was left “heartbroken” after fire ripped through the business in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Despite the scale of the destruction, he said he was thankful nobody

A major fire involving a car showroom, multiple vehicles and café premises in Garvagh prompted a large-scale emergency response in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with 55 firefighters deployed to tackle the blaze. Emergency crews were called to the incident on the Carhill Road at approximately 4.30am on Wednesday 13 May after reports of a building fire. Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service said firefighters arriving at the scene were met by a “developed fire” involvin

Margarette O’Donnell, a peer trainer with The Recovery College, has described how her own mental health journey inspired her to help others. For years, Margarette O’Donnell felt she was “losing the battle day by day” with her mental health — hiding her struggles behind a brave face while privately feeling hopeless about the future. Now, during Mental Health Awareness Week, the Northern Trust Recovery College peer trainer is sharing her deeply personal story in the hope it enc

Pictured at the launch of the Death Positive Library in Coleraine, including Fiona Gilmour, Northern Trust Macmillan Service Improvement Lead, Sharon Williams, Project Manager, Compassionate Communities NI, the Deputy Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Alderman Richard Stewart-Brown, Seamus Coyle, the Northern Trust’s Lead Nurse Consultant Adult Learning Disability Team, Anne O’Hagan, Macmillan Community Palliative Care Service Improvement Facilitator, Diane M

Linda McMillan, Chief People Officer for Fibrus Group with Ronan Conlon, Founder of FitMinds Coach, and FitMinds programme participants. Children of all abilities across Northern Ireland are set to take part in a major programme of inclusive summer activity camps after FitMinds Coach announced plans to welcome more than 1,000 young children to sessions across 20 locations this summer. The one-day camps, designed for children aged three to six, will run throughout July and Au

Retired Baptist pastor Clive Johnston A retired Baptist pastor has been convicted under Northern Ireland’s abortion buffer zone laws after preaching on John 3:16 near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine — prompting fierce criticism from the Traditional Unionist Voice, which described the judgement as a “chilling” attack on freedom of speech and religion. Pastor Clive Johnston, 78, was found guilty of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after holding an

Aghanloo nature-based wastewater plant A £4 million wastewater treatment upgrade on the outskirts of Aghanloo is set to reshape how sewage is processed in rural Northern Ireland, with NI Water turning to a nature-led system that relies on thousands of reeds instead of energy-intensive machinery. The newly completed facility outside Limavady replaces traditional treatment methods with an eco-friendly process designed to cut energy use, reduce maintenance costs and deliver long

Community mental health teams across the Causeway Coast and Glens are being positioned at the centre of a major shift in how care is delivered, with health officials signalling they are ready to align with a new model designed to bring services closer to people’s homes. Members of the Causeway Hospital Partnership Board heard this week that existing community-based services are already well placed to support the Department of Health’s Neighbourhood Model of Health and Wellbei

TV and radio presenter Dermot O’Leary filming in Ballycastle for the second series of ‘Dermot’s Taste of Ireland’. A major new television series showcasing Northern Ireland’s coastline is set to reach millions of viewers this weekend, as broadcaster Dermot O’Leary returns with a second series of his hit travel and food programme exploring the island of Ireland. The new series of ‘Dermot’s Taste of Ireland’ will begin airing on ITV1 and streaming platform ITVX on Saturday, 2 M