NEWS

County Hall, Ballymena Wednesday 28 October 2026 Up to £110,000 is expected to be spent preparing County Hall in Ballymena to accommodate civil servants temporarily, even though the government plans to dispose of the building once a major refurbishment of Academy House is completed. The Department of Finance wants to modernise Academy House on Broughshane Street and make it the long-term base for civil servants currently working across both Ballymena government buildings. How

Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart Wednesday 28 October 2026 The High Court has ruled that the Secretary of State acted lawfully in banning an Orange Order parade along Portadown’s Garvaghy Road, while delivering a significant warning about unlawful protests, respect for the rule of law and the involvement of elected representatives. Wednesday’s judgment has prompted renewed demands from Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart for First Minister Michelle O’Neill to be removed from office,

Northern Ireland’s Unionist party leaders (L-R): Gavin Robinson MP (DUP), Jim Allister MP (TUV), and Jon Burrows (UUP). Saturday 10 October 2026 A deepening political dispute over Drumcree has exposed sharply different approaches within unionism, with DUP leader Gavin Robinson defending his party’s decision to remain in government, TUV leader Jim Allister accusing him of failing to deliver meaningful consequences, and Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows demanding police accoun

HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing into Belfast on Wednesday morning. (Photo: Michael Luke) Wednesday 07 October 2026 The arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Belfast has prompted TUV leader Jim Allister to call for a significantly stronger permanent Royal Navy presence in Northern Ireland, arguing its strategic importance has grown amid heightened security concerns in the North Atlantic. The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier sailed into Belfast on Wednesday morning, marking the first visi

Tuesday 29 September 2026 Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows has called on Sinn Féin to replace Deirdre Hargey on the Northern Ireland Policing Board while the investigation into events on the Garvaghy Road, and any resulting proceedings, remain ongoing. He has written to the Board’s chair seeking an urgent decision before Thursday’s meeting, arguing that a member involved in events under investigation should not scrutinise the officers responsible for policing them. Th

Stormont Parliament Buildings and (inset) TUV Party Leader & North Antrim MP Jim Allister, and the party’s North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston Monday 28 September 2026 The TUV has called for the DUP to bring down Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions unless the Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road is allowed to proceed, as the political fallout from Sunday’s blockade moved directly into the Assembly chamber. TUV leader Jim Allister MP and North Antrim MLA Timothy G

CGI design drawing showing aerial view of the proposed IFA National Football Centre outside Ballymena Tuesday 15 September 2026 A campaign opposing the proposed location of the Irish FA’s National Football Centre in Galgorm has challenged North Antrim MP Jim Allister to subject the project to the same level of scrutiny he applied to Casement Park — prompting the MP to insist he will not be “pressurised or bullied” into adopting objectors’ position. The intervention from the R

An alleyway in Killane Park, Ahoghill where residents have raised concerns over weeds and moss across the estate TUV Alderman Stewart McDonald has called for action over the condition of footpaths and alleyways at Killane Park in Ahoghill after residents raised concerns about overgrown weeds, vegetation and moss. The local representative said he was contacted by residents unhappy with the condition of the area and subsequently raised their concerns with North Antrim MP Jim Al

Inset: North Antrim MP Jim Allister Ballymena GP practices face a wait until at least 2029 for the rollout of Multi-Disciplinary Teams designed to ease pressure on doctors and give patients greater access to physiotherapy, mental health and social work support. North Antrim MP Jim Allister has called for the timetable to be reconsidered after being contacted by local GPs concerned that Ballymena remains without the additional primary care support. Mr Allister subsequently rai

Inset: TUV councillor Jonathan McAuley TUV councillor Jonathan McAuley has expressed disappointment over what he says is a lack of progress by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council on exploring alternatives to traditional fireworks at its Halloween events. The councillor raised the issue again during September’s Environmental Services Committee meeting, almost a year after suggesting that options including silent fireworks and drone shows should be considered. Concerns ove

Ballymena Town Hall, and (inset) North Antrim MP Jim Allister Ballymena’s 400th anniversary has been marked at Westminster, with North Antrim MP Jim Allister tabling a House of Commons motion celebrating four centuries of the town and the generations of people who have helped shape it. The parliamentary recognition comes on a landmark day for Ballymena — exactly 400 years since King Charles I granted the charter on 25 August 1626 which established the foundations of the marke

A High Court ruling that the Parades Commission acted unlawfully in its handling of the Drumcree parade has triggered demands for the entire Commission to resign, with political pressure now expected to move to Westminster. Mr Justice McAlinden today quashed the Commission’s determination preventing Portadown District Orange Order from completing its traditional church parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown. The court outcome represents a significant d

General and colorectal surgeon Damian McKay, NI representative for the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (ACPGBI) Monday 24 August 2026 A leading Northern Ireland surgeon has warned that prolonged delay over the future of emergency general surgery at Causeway Hospital would place already stretched clinical teams under increasing pressure — as he revealed that he and colleagues sought the intervention of three major surgical associations following even

William on parade with Kells Sons of William Flute Band. (Photo: Loyal Ulster Scottish Bands) Tributes have been paid to William ‘Booey’ Young, a well-known member of Kells Sons of William Flute Band, whose sudden death following Friday night’s parade in Rasharkin has brought shock and sadness to the Kells, Ballee and wider bands communities. Mr Young, from Lettercreeve in Ballee, Ballymena, had been taking part in the parade on Friday evening, 21 August, when he became ill.

The newly resurfaced Galgorm Road in Ballymena The resurfacing of a key route from Galgorm into Ballymena has been completed, bringing an improvement to a stretch of road which local representatives say had caused concern among residents for some time. TUV councillors Stewart McDonald and Matthew Armstrong have welcomed the completion of the works on the main road into the town, saying carrying out the scheme during the summer holidays helped avoid some of the worst potential

Changing facilities at the local Broughshane Community Centre Mould, leaking water, inadequate toilets and concerns about water close to electrical installations have prompted a renewed demand for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council to take urgent action at Broughshane Playing Fields. UUP Councillor Alan Barr and TUV Councillor Chrissy Jamieson say local clubs, players and volunteers have endured “plainly substandard” changing facilities for long enough and now need a firm pl

The PSNI is facing calls to bring those responsible for burning poppy wreaths, Loyal Order regalia, flags and other material on bonfires in Londonderry before the courts. Police have confirmed that material placed on three bonfires in the city on Saturday night is being treated as part of a series of sectarian-motivated hate crimes, with investigations now under way. The bonfires were located at Bligh’s Lane in Creggan, Lecky Road in the Bogside and Corrody Road in the Top of

The forty-five new PSNI officers who formally attested on Friday at the Police College, Garnerville, accompanied by the pipes and drums of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and An Garda Síochána bands. TUV leader Jim Allister has accused the PSNI leadership of engaging in “all-Ireland symbolism” after members of An Garda Síochána’s band took part in a ceremony marking the attestation of 45 new police officers in Belfast. The North Antrim MP described the Garda band’s par

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir The Ulster Farmers’ Union has declared that Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir and DAERA’s two most senior officials have lost the confidence of farmers—and demanded all three resign immediately. In a major escalation of the fallout from the Fivemiletown cattle operation, Northern Ireland’s largest farming organisation extended its vote of no confidence beyond the Department to Mr Muir, Permanent Secretary Katrina Godfrey and Chief Veterinary Of

The aftermath of the Ballymena Bombing, an IRA firebombing attack that killed 27-year-old mother of three Yvonne Dunlop on 9 October 1976. The perpetrator, Thomas McElwee, subsequently starved himself to death on hunger strike. Pictured, Yvonne Dunlop. TUV representatives have strongly criticised First Minister Michelle O’Neill after she attended a commemoration for IRA hunger striker Thomas McElwee, who was imprisoned for his involvement in the 1976 Ballymena firebombing in