Keeva Neely 
Storm NRG gym owner Keeva Neely, from Swatragh in Co Londonderry, took on Amanda Wah, in the semi-final of Gladiators. Credit: BBC
The Co Londonderry gym owner powered her way into the Gladiators arena back in March and made it through to the semi finals.
The businesswoman from Swatragh ran rings around her opponent and smashed her way into the semi-finals following an impressive display of speed, strength and determination which saw her triumph over Rachel Bruno – the daughter of boxing legend Frank Bruno – in the quarter final.
The 23-year-old faced off Fury in The Duel, saw off Sabre in The Ring, outpaced Fire on The Wall to secure a stunning victory before being beaten by Warrington woman Amanda Wah.
Carly Wilson
Miss NI Carly Wilson
The young cancer survivor from Belfast was crowned Miss Northern Ireland at the annual beauty pageant in June.
The 23-year-old, who was inspired to enter the competition after recovering from a rare form of the disease, attended an oncology check-up just hours before being awarded the coveted title.
Being told she is cancer free in September 2023 has given the Ulster University psychology student a zeal for life and she vowed to use her platform for good.
Kneecap
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, aka Mo Chara, outside Woolwich Crown Court. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA
Belfast rap trio made headlines around the world during 2025 after footage appearing to show Hezbollah flags at a previous gig resulted in Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh appearing in court accused of a terrorism offence.
The case against the rapper, known as Mo Chara, was ultimately thrown out due to a technical error in how the case was brought.
Chaotic scenes unfolded outside London courthouses on several occasions as crowds turned out to support what the band claimed was “political policing” and censorship of their opposition to alleged genocide in Gaza.
It came after Sharon Osborn Sharon condemned the group as “pathetic” and “uneducated” following their Coachella sets.
Neil and Donna Sands
Donna and Neil Sands won their case against Tattle Life. Photo: Peter Morrison
The NI couple secured a £300,000 award for damages in June after previously winning a significant legal victory over the man behind gossip website Tattle Life.
A High Court judge ruled in their favour after they became the target of anonymous online abuse which amounted to defamation and harassment.
The website’s founder was unmasked as Sebastian Bond, also known Bastian Durward, setting a precedent for other victims to seek redress for online harm.
Tracy Kelly
Tracy Kelly
The DUP councillor became the party’s first female Lord Mayor in June and pledged to ensure no-one is left behind during her year in office.
One of her early engagements saw the 47-year-old attend the All Ireland Fleadh in Wexford which she described as “absolutely fantastic” ahead of its arrival in Belfast for the first time next summer.
The unionist, who hails from the Village area of south Belfast, accepted a special ‘Fleadh harp’ and appeared on Irish language broadcaster TG4’s coverage of the official handover.
Bailey the prison dog
Bailey. (Credit: Causeway Coast Dog Rescue)
Controversy swirled when a support dog used to rehabilitate inmates was housed at Magilligan Prison.
The pooch rose to fame as a result of the row which ended with Bailey being removed from block H2 of the secure facility – which houses some of NI’s most dangerous convicts – in September.
Following protests and political intervention, the canine was placed in temporary care with UUP MLA Jon Burrows declaring “Bailey is now out of prison” and calling for a full investigation into the “disgraceful episode”. The Department of Justice has rejected allegations of neglect.
Trevor Gribben
Dr Trevor Gribben, left, stepped down (Liam McBurney/PA)
In an unprecedented move, the senior church leader became the first moderator to resign from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) in its 185 year history over “”serious and significant” safeguarding failures.
Mr Gribben dodged questions from the media during a shock press conference in November as he announced he was to step down from the end of that month and retire from his other roles as clerk of the general assembly and general secretary.
Five days after the church confirmed people were harmed and put at risk, the PSNI launched a criminal investigation. The scandal led to an emergency general assembly being called in December amid damning allegations of bullying and harassment within PCI.
Soldier F
Bloody Sunday families and supporters march to the Crown Court in Belfast
The veteran, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was acquitted of two murder charges and five counts of attempted murder on Bloody Sunday at Belfast Crown Court in October.
James Wray (22) and William McKinney (26) were among 13 people shot dead by the Parachute Regiment on January 30, 1972 at a civil rights demonstration in Londonderry – at least 15 others were maimed.
Unionist politicians welcomed the outcome of the non-jury trial – which cost £4.3m so far – while First Minister and Sinn Fein MLA Michelle O’Neill stood by the families describing the verdict as “deeply disappointing”.
Gordon Lyons
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons
Stormont’s Communities Minister provoked anger after he shared the location of migrants who fled race riots in Ballymena over the summer.
The Facebook post resulted in a leisure centre in Larne being targeted and set on fire amid tensions following an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Ballymena – the PPS has since dropped the case.
Mr Lyons was accused of “inflaming tensions” before hitting back accusing his critics of defamation and resisting calls to resign including from First Minister Michelle O’Neill.
It came a month after the DUP minister apologised “unreservedly” to the organisers of a female empowerment conference for noting that the “good-looking” delegrates had been seated at the front.
Quadruplet calves
The quadruplets with their mother
A Co Tyrone dairy farmer was left stunned when one of his cows defied one in 11 million odds to give birth to quadruplets.
Richard Blair (52) had suspected twins but was shocked after making four deliveries at his farm in Strabane.
His father father Willie (79) and daughter Lucy (21) helped bring the Holstein Friesians into the world back in July.
Sons of Ulster Flute Band
Ballykeel Loyal Sons of Ulster Flute Band parading. Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX
An annual parade organised by the Portrush band clashed with The Open in 2025.
Concerns over the march – which has taken place on the first Saturday after the Twelfth of July for three decades – sparked frantic calls for it to be rescheduled to avoid a collision with the third day of play at Royal Portrush.
The band even turned down an offer of around £20,000 to postpone the parade which passed off peacefully and offered a unique cultural experience for tourists from around the world.
Storm Éowyn
A fallen tree on Cyprus Avenue, east Belfast, as Storm Eowyn arrived (David Young/PA)
The new year ushered in a historic storm which prompted the Met Office to issue a rare red alert before the weather system wreaked havoc across the UK and Ireland.
Gusts in excess of 90mph wiped out power to around 30% of all properties here and inflicted widespread damage including to Gary McConnell’s farm near Glenarm.
His insurer refused to pay out full £55,000 repair bill, handing over just £18,000 instead.
But NFU Mutual did a U-turn and apologised after the dairy herder reached out to the media and his local MP, Jim Allister.
Lisneal College 
Contractors on site at the artificial pitches at Lisneal College earlier this year. Picture Martin McKeown.
The former principal of Lisneal College in Londonderry became embroiled in a high profile row over funding for a football pitch which almost led him to quit earlier this year.
Mr Allen made the headlines after it emerged the school was allocated £710,000 for an upgrade despite not making a direct application and following a meeting the school held with Education Minister Paul Givan and his DUP colleagues.
The headmaster, who denied any wrongdoing, later took up a three year secondment to the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh – the move was unrelated to political uproar which saw Sinn Fein accuse Mr Givan of “cronyism”.
But the minister dismissed criticism from MLAs as sectarian.
West Belfast man John Hendron, of Cullingtree Fold on the Falls Road, launched a campaign of harassment against Mr Allen and Mr Givan resulting in a two month prison sentence suspended for two years.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (David Davies/PA)
The NI golfer made his dreams come true in 2025 earning him the much coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year title.
It topped off a remarkable year that saw him become the sixth player ever to secure career Grand Slam – The Masters victory in April sent him soaring back to top of his game.
The 36-year-old was also a key part of Team Europe at the Ryder Cup helping his side to emerge victorious on US soil in September – they were crowned Team of the Year at BBC ceremony just a few days before Christmas.
5G masts 
Emergency services at the scene of a 5g mast fire in Poleglass
Two men were arrested in connection with attacks on 5G masts in west Belfast in June and September.
It follows a spate of arsons which prompted some owners to install CCTV cameras during 2025 in a bid to deter those involved in what police described as an organised campaign of sabotage believed to be inspired by conspiracy theories.
Dozens of attacks since 2023 have cost as much as £5m in damage.
Michelle Gildernew
Former Sinn Fein elected representative Michelle Gildernew (Niall Carson/PA)
The former Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP had her employment contract with Sinn Fein terminated in May.
Ms Gildernew, who served at Stormont and Westminster for over two decades before her failed European election bid in the Republic, expressed disappointment following the “above board” exit.
Vowing to remain a loyal Sinn Féin member, she described her relationship with Michelle O’Neill as “okay” back in June – but just four months later the First Minister was disavowing her party colleague who claimed certain murders during the Troubles were “justified”.
Ms Gildernew also described the six counties as “a shithole” on the podcast Borderland – UK or United Ireland?
Irish street signs 
Irish street signs
Belfast City Council’s controversial dual language rules came under the spotlight after it emerged that applications have been made for street signs in Mandarin, German, Greek and Hebrew since 2022.
DUP councillor Sarah Bunting slammed the “flawed” policy which means only 15% of residents are required to support changes with just one local occupant or a elected representative able to bring forward an application.
Irish street signs were damaged at an average rate of one per week during the year with Shandon Park being the target of at least two “hate-motivated” attacks.
Colum Eastwood 
Colum Eastwood. Pic by Lucy North/PA Wire.
The Foyle MP and former SDLP leader was cautioned by the PSNI for taking part in an illegal pro-Palestine demonstration in Londonderry on February 14, 2024.
In November 2025 prosecutors formally withdrew the charge after a defence solicitor told a judge that Mr Eastwood had accepted an “informed warning” which will remain on his record for one year.
It came just a few months after he ruled himself out of the Irish presidential election race amid rumours he intended to stand as an independent candidate.
The father-of-two, who revealed he once turned down a knighthood, also confirmed he is in a relationship with “feisty” Labour MP and former shadow NI Secretary, Louise Haigh.
Ciaran Mulgrew 
Ciaran Mulgrew
The former chair of the Belfast Trust was sacked by Stormont’s Health Minister in May following a series of negative headlines including damning revelations of bullying in the Royal Victoria Hospital’s cardiac unit.
Mike Nesbitt took the rare step after becoming convinced that new leadership was needed to tackle the scale of crisis within the trust – it prompted Mr Mulgrew to claim he was being made a “scapegoat”.
In October, a review of the unit concluded that it “remains dysfunctional” and highlighted a reluctance among some staff to accept the findings of the original review which identified problems.
Rev Mervyn Gibson
Rev Mervyn Gibson in Templemore Avenue, East Belfast ( Peter Morrison)
The grand secretary of the Orange Order caused a stir by dismissing concerns about asbestos at an Eleventh Night pyre as “clearly political”.
The senior orangeman urged people to “go ahead and enjoy themselves” at the Village bonfire despite it being described as a “major public health risk”.
A decision by Belfast City Council to remove the towering structure – at an estimated cost of £100,000 – prompted the PSNI to declare a major incident due to the risk of “serious and sustained disorder”.
Celebrations went ahead as planned on the land owned by Boron Developments with the NI Environment Agency launching a criminal probe weeks later.
Paul Givan 
Stormont Education Minister Paul Givan
The Education Minister survived a no-confidence motion at Stormont after being criticised for a trip to Israel.
Despite 47 MLAs (58.8%) voting in favour of the proposal brought by People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll – and backed by Sinn Féin, Alliance and the SDLP – the bid to oust the minister failed to gain cross-community support.
Unionists dismissed the outcry over departmental resources being used to share images of his visit as the “performative” with Mr Givan describing the bitter row as a “toxic mix of antisemitism, anti-unionism and hypocrisy”.
Jonathan Anderson
JW Anderson
NI fashion designer Jonathan Anderson scooped the top gong at the 2025 British Fashion Awards in London’s Royal Albert Hall in December.
The Magherafelt man was crowned ‘Designer of the Year’ for the third year in a row in recognition of his work at his own JW Anderson label and the prestigious fashion house Dior less than a year after he took on the role of creative director.
Lola Petticrew
Lola Petticrew stars as IRA volunteer Dolours Price in Say Nothing
The Belfast actress was cast to star alongside Toby Wallace in a new live action Netflix show due to begin filming in 2026.
The Assassin’s Creed series is based on the best-selling video game franchise.
Earlier in the year the Say Nothing star won Best Actress in a Lead Role (TV) at the Irish Film and Television Awards and received a Bafta nod for her portrayal of Dolours Price in the hit Disney+ show.
Conor Bradley
Conor Bradley
The Co Tyrone footballer helped Liverpool FC win the top flight of English league football for the 20th time in the club’s history.
Bradley became the first player from NI in over a century to celebrate league glory with LFC.
The former Dungannon Swifts star has been hailed by Michael O’Neill as an “icon” in the Northern Irish sporting pantheon ahead their play-off for the 2026 World Cup.
Gerry Adams.jpg)
Gerry Adams. Photo: Reuters
The former Sinn Féin president was awarded €100,000 (£84,000) in damages after winning a libel case against the BBC.
Mr Adams sued the corporation over a 2016 BBC NI Spotlight programme and online article which contained an allegation that he sanctioned the murder of British agent Denis Donaldson.
The 76-year-old, who said the case was about “putting manners on the BBC” donated the money to a number of organisations including Unicef for the children of Gaza, a local GAA club and a support group for republican prisoners and families (An Cumman Cabhrach).