NEWS

Friday 16 October 2026 Ballymena town centre is preparing for a frightfully fun afternoon this Halloween, with free treats, spooky characters, fancy dress and family entertainment all part of a popular event returning for 2026. The Ballymena Halloween Trail is back on Friday 30 October, this time with a Haunted Harvest theme that will send families exploring the town centre, collecting treats from participating businesses and showing off their best Halloween costumes. Organis

Action from previous years at the Portrush Beach Races event, organised by Knock Motorcycle & Car Club. (All Images: Ken Cox) Friday 16 October 2026 The setting is a familiar seaside favourite. The soundtrack this weekend will be engines, as motorcycle and quad racers take to Portrush’s East Strand for two days of competition on the sand. The Ramore Portrush Beach Race returns on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October, with Ulster Quad Champion Emma Wray heading the announced entr

Tuesday 13 October 2026 A free two-day Halloween event in Ballymena will include a dedicated day for children and young people with additional needs, alongside pumpkin picking, a disco and a sensory corner. Turning Point NI’s Halloween Inclusive Spooky Bash takes place in the Des Allen Suite at Ballymena Showgrounds on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October, with activities for residents and families from the Ballymena Borough. Monday’s sessions are exclusively for children and you

Emer Maguire, ambassador for Good Relations Week 2026, pictured with Arteska performers Surya Prakash Dontham and Weihong Tu as she calls on the public to explore this year’s programme and take part. Sunday 11 October 2026 People across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to step outside their usual circles and connect with others as the biggest-ever Good Relations Week gets under way tomorrow, Monday 12 October, with more than 330 events taking place across all 11 council

Dr Konstantinos Xyntaris invites those with an interest in tree planting to attend the Growers Gathering at CAFRE this month at Greenmount Campus. Monday 05 October 2026 Tree growers, foresters and others involved in woodland creation across Northern Ireland are being invited to Greenmount Campus in Antrim for an industry event exploring the future of tree production and planting. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) will host ‘A Growers’ Gathering fo

Hannah Martin, Sustainable Ruminant Genetics with dairy farmer Andrew McCollum, Ballycairn Farms discuss plans for Session 2 at the Dairy Conference 2026: Driving Profitability, Delivering Sustainability. Sunday 04 October 2026 Northern Ireland dairy farmers will be shown how genetic information can be turned into practical breeding decisions to improve herd performance, profitability and sustainability at a major industry conference in Antrim later this month. Dairy Conferen

Friday 02 October 2026 Smokers across Northern Ireland are being encouraged to use Stoptober as their starting point to quit for good, with more than 500 free support services available through pharmacies, GP practices, health trusts and community settings. Evidence highlighted by the Public Health Agency (PHA) shows that people who stop smoking for 28 days are much more likely to quit permanently, while getting professional support can further improve the chances of success.

Thursday 01 October 2026 Free tickets for the City Walls section of Derry Halloween’s 40th anniversary trail will be released at noon on Monday, October 5, ahead of three evenings of circus, aerial performances and folklore-inspired encounters. The Awakening the Walled City Trail returns from October 28–30, running nightly from 6pm to 9pm across the historic city centre. Only the City Walls section requires a ticket. Visitors can explore all other trail locations without book

Tuesday 29 September 2026 Families are being invited to get building, exploring and solving this October as The Great Coleraine Build brings hands-on Bricks4Kidz sessions, a free town centre fairytale trail and the chance to win a family trip to LEGOLAND®. The programme, organised by Coleraine Connect with support from Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, begins with 13 large brick-built fairytale displays appearing in businesses across Coleraine from Thursday, 1 October.

The late poet Seamus Heaney Tuesday 8 September 2026 A landmark collection that transformed Seamus Heaney from a young Co Derry writer into one of the most recognisable poetic voices of his generation will be celebrated at a free two-day conference in Belfast this week. Digging at 60: From the Archives will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September. The event marks 60 years since the publication of Death of a N

A six-day programme of historical presentations, political discussions and traditional events will culminate in an Ulster Day Parade through Ballymena later this month. The annual Ulster Covenant Festival, organised by the Apprentice Boys of Derry Ballymena and District Amalgamated Committee, will run from Monday 21 September until Saturday 26 September. Events will include discussions examining the present and future of unionism and loyalism, a presentation on the Ballymena

The Ulster Aviation Society is preparing to throw open its historic wartime hangars for what promises to be its biggest European Heritage Open Days weekend yet, with more aircraft, historic vehicles and entertainment added as visitor numbers continue to soar. The entirely volunteer-run charity will welcome the public to Maze Long Kesh, near Lisburn, on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, with free admission and parking and no need to book in advance. Running from 10am until

Dairy Conference Partners pictured (L-R) are Glenn Cuddy, Deputy President at Ulster Farmers Union, Joe Mulholland, Head of Dairy at CAFRE, Jason Rankin, Senior Industry Advisor at Agrisearch and Ian Stevenson, CEO of Dairy Council for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland dairy farmers will hear how genetics, research and better use of farm data could help improve profitability while reducing environmental impact at a major industry conference this autumn. The Dairy Council for

Ballymena BID is bringing businesses across the town centre together for a major birthday celebration tomorrow as Ballymena marks its historic 400th anniversary. Shops, cafés, restaurants and other businesses will roll out special offers, £400 giveaways, discounts, competitions, parties and treats on Tuesday 25 August, while the Ballymena BID team will be out on the streets handing out nostalgic party bags — with some containing extra surprises. The “Birthday Bonanza” is desi

The Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Cllr Cushinan joins Skateboard NI to mark the launch of the free Skate Activation Events that will run over the next two years at Skate 100, Newtownabbey. Young people and budding skateboarders will be able to learn new skills for free when a new series of skateboarding events launches in Newtownabbey next weekend. The first Skate Activation Event will take place at Skate 100, V36, on Saturday 29 August, with free coached sessions for chi

Glenarm Village Committee members (L-R) Robert Taggart, Linda Hylands, Hilary Cross, John Duggan, Frances Wilson, and Emer Furey. A celebration of books, art, local history, storytelling, film, poetry and live music will take over Glenarm next weekend as the village’s Arts & Literary Fayre returns following a successful inaugural event last year. Organised by Glenarm Village Committee, the Glenarm Arts & Literary Fayre (GALF) will run across Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August,

St Patrick’s Church, Ballymena Four hundred years to the day since King Charles I granted the Ballymena Estate to William Adair, people from across the town and wider borough are being invited to come together for a special Service of Thanksgiving marking the historic anniversary. The civic service will take place at St Patrick’s Church, Ballymena, on Tuesday 25 August at 7.30pm, forming part of this year’s Ballymena 400 celebrations. The anniversary provides a rare opportuni

Young anglers are being offered a free evening of fishing at Kilgad Lakes near Ballymena as a local club brings its summer programme to a close. Kells, Connor and Glenwherry Angling Club has exclusively booked the lakes from 5pm to 9pm, on Wednesday 19 August, allowing its junior members to fish free of charge. Equipment available for beginners All junior anglers are welcome, and anyone who is not already a member can apply to join the club by tapping the button below. Fishin

Ballymena BID is bringing businesses, families and visitors together for two major days of town-centre celebrations as Ballymena prepares to mark its 400th birthday. An End of Summer and Ballymena 400 Street Party will take over Greenvale Street on Saturday 22 August, before businesses across the town join the official birthday celebrations on Tuesday 25 August. The programme, with support from Department for Communities (DfC), will run alongside a number of anniversary event

People across Northern Ireland are set to witness one of the most spectacular astronomical events visible here for decades this evening, when the Moon obscures around 93% of the Sun. The high-coverage partial solar eclipse on Wednesday 12 August 2026 will provide the best eclipse coverage Northern Ireland is expected to experience until 2090. To mark the occasion, the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast is hosting a free public viewing event from 6pm un