2008 in Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
Events
- 4 January - An unforecasted blizzard creates havoc across eastern Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, with falls of 8 inches in one hour. - 22 January - Peter RobinsonPeter Robinson (politician)Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party...
, Minister of Finance, releases the first final budget and programme for government, agreed by the Stormont executive. - 23 January - The brother of a Real IRAReal Irish Republican ArmyThe Real Irish Republican Army, otherwise known as the Real IRA , and styling itself as Óglaigh na hÉireann , is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation which aims to bring about a united Ireland...
leader is one of two Irish citizens arrested in LithuaniaLithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
on suspicion of buying firearms and explosives for the Real IRA. - 28 January - The appointment of four Commissioners Designate for Victims and Survivors is announced: Bertha McDougallBertha McDougallBertha McDougall, OBE is the interim Commissioner for Victims and Survivors of the Troubles. She was appointed in October 2005 by Peter Hain to look at key areas relating to services for victims, funding arrangements in relation to services and grants paid to victims and survivors groups and...
, Patricia MacBride, Brendan McAllister and Mike NesbittMike NesbittMichael Nesbitt MLA is a politician, journalist and former broadcaster from Northern Ireland. He is married to broadcaster, and former on-screen colleague, Lynda Bryans.-Broadcasting career:...
. - 29 January - Environment Minister, Arlene FosterArlene FosterArlene Isabel Foster is a politician in Northern Ireland. She is one of two Democratic Unionist Party MLAs representing the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She became Minister of the Environment on 8 May 2009 and was subsequently reshuffled into the...
, refuses developer, Seymour Sweeney, planning permission for a Giant's CausewayGiant's CausewayThe Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles northeast of the town of Bushmills...
visitor centre, reversing her earlier position of "being minded" to approve it. - 29 January - PSNIPolice Service of Northern IrelandThe Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
Historical Enquiries TeamHistorical Enquiries TeamThe Historical Enquiries Team is a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles ....
is to reopen files on 124 deaths resulting from fatal shootings by British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soldiers between 1970 and 1973. - 1 February - TaoiseachTaoiseachThe Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, Bertie AhernBertie AhernPatrick Bartholomew "Bertie" Ahern is a former Irish politician who served as Taoiseach of Ireland from 26 June 1997 to 7 May 2008....
, travels to BallymenaBallymenaBallymena is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census....
to meet First MinisterOffice of the First Minister and deputy First MinisterThe Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive with overall responsibility for the running of the Executive...
, Ian PaisleyIan PaisleyIan Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
, and open a resort and spa. - 6 February - Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency since 1992 and was previously a member of Seanad Éireann.-Early life:...
, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht AffairsMinister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht AffairsThe Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is a senior minister at the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is Frances Fitzgerald, TD.-Overview:...
, announces €250,000 grant to allow Orange LodgesOrange InstitutionThe Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
to employ a development officer. - 7 February - Northern Ireland Policing BoardNorthern Ireland Policing BoardThe Northern Ireland Policing Board is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Northern Ireland...
decide to appoint a panel of independent experts to carry out a review of the police investigation into the Omagh bombingOmagh bombingThe Omagh bombing was a car bomb attack carried out by the Real Irish Republican Army , a splinter group of former Provisional Irish Republican Army members opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, on Saturday 15 August 1998, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Twenty-nine people died as a...
. Relatives still seek a public inquiry. - 8 February, Secretary of StateSecretary of State for Northern IrelandThe Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
, Shaun WoodwardShaun WoodwardShaun Anthony Woodward is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for St Helens South since 2001. He served in the Cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland...
reveals that the Bloody Sunday InquiryBloody Sunday InquiryThe Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry or the Saville Report after its chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after campaigns for a second inquiry by families of those killed and injured in Derry on Bloody Sunday...
is still costing £500,000 a month although it has not held hearings since 2005. The total cost of the Inquiry has reached £181.2m and will not report until the second half of 2008. - 8 February - Economy Minister, Nigel DoddsNigel DoddsNigel Alexander Dodds, OBE, MP, BL is a barrister and Northern Irish unionist politician. He is Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and from 1993 has been General Secretary of the DUP...
, officially opens Invest NI's first office in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in MumbaiMumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. - 6 March - Victoria SquareVictoria Square, BelfastVictoria Square is a commercial, residential and leisure development in Belfast, Northern Ireland developed and built by Multi Development UK over 6 years. At approx 800,000ft² and costing £400m it is the biggest and one of the most expensive property developments ever undertaken in Northern...
, commercial, residential and leisure development in BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
is opened. - 7 August - DUPDemocratic Unionist PartyThe Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
NI AssemblyNorthern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
member, Mervyn StoreyMervyn StoreyCllr Mervyn Storey MLA is a Northern Ireland politician and a Democratic Unionist Party MLA for North Antrim.-Biography:Mervyn Storey is a former member of the Fire Authority for Northern Ireland. Storey was elected to Ballymoney council in 2001 and again in 2005. He is a member of the Ballymoney...
, who chairs the Assembly education committee, calls for creationism to be taught alongside evolution in schools in Northern Ireland. - 16 August - Flash floods occurred over all of Northern including Counties Antrim, Down and Armagh. Many rivers were flooded, cutting off traffic to several towns. The newly constructed Broadway Underpass in west Belfast was under 15 ft of flood water. 3/4 of the rain in August fell in a 24 hour period.
Government
- Secretary of State for Northern IrelandSecretary of State for Northern IrelandThe Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...
- Shaun WoodwardShaun WoodwardShaun Anthony Woodward is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for St Helens South since 2001. He served in the Cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland... - First Minister - Ian PaisleyIan PaisleyIan Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, PC is a politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , he and Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness were elected First Minister and deputy First Minister respectively on 8 May 2007.In addition to co-founding...
- Deputy First Minister - Martin McGuinnessMartin McGuinnessJames Martin Pacelli McGuinness is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and the current deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. McGuinness was also the Sinn Féin candidate for the Irish presidential election, 2011. He was born in Derry, Northern Ireland....
Arts and literature
- 8 February - Ulster BankUlster BankUlster Bank is a large commercial bank, one of the Big Four in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities, Ulster Bank Limited and Ulster Bank Ireland Limited...
announces three-year sponsorship worth over £1m for Belfast Festival at Queen'sBelfast Festival at Queen'sThe Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's is an annual arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 49th Festival will take place from 14 to 31 October 2011.-History:... - 28 April - BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
plays a concert in the Waterfront HallWaterfront HallThe Waterfront Hall is a multi-purpose facility, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. Practice partner Peter McGukin was the project architect....
, BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
Athletics
- 26 January-27 January - Irish Indoor Athletics Championships, Odyssey ArenaOdyssey (Belfast)The Odyssey Arena is a large sports and entertainment centre situated in Titanic Quarter, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was jointly funded by the Millennium Commission, the Laganside Corporation, the DCAL, the Sheridan Group and the Sports Council for Northern Ireland. The Arena opened in 2000 with...
, BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. - 5 May - 27th Belfast City MarathonBelfast MarathonThe Belfast Marathon is a marathon run every year in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The marathon is run on May Day of each year and has been held for 29 years . In 2011 there were over 20,000 race participants....
takes place.
Football
- Internationals
- 18 January - Nigel WorthingtonNigel WorthingtonNigel Worthington is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and manager.He was manager of the Northern Ireland national team from 2007 until after their final Euro 2012 qualifying campaign match against Italy in October 2011.As a player, he was a left full back and occasional left...
is reappointed as manager of the Northern Ireland International team.
- 6 February - Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland national football teamThe Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
0 - 1 BulgariaBulgaria national football teamThe FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus... - 26 March - Northern Ireland 4 - 1 GeorgiaGeorgia national football teamThe Georgia national football team is the national association football team of Georgia and is controlled by the Georgian Football Federation. The Georgian team's first match took place in 1990, while Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. The team have attempted to qualify for each major...
- 20 August - ScotlandScotland national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
0 - 0 Northern Ireland
- World Cup 2010 Qualifiers
- 6 September - SlovakiaSlovakia national football teamThe Slovakia national football team represents Slovakia in association football and is controlled by the Slovak Football Association , the governing body for football in Slovakia. Slovakia's home stadium is Štadión Pasienky and their head coach is Vladimír Weiss...
v Northern Ireland - 10 September - Northern Ireland v Czech RepublicCzech Republic national football teamThe Czech Republic national football team represents the Czech Republic in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of the Czech Republic, the governing body for football in the Czech Republic. Their current head coach is Michal Bílek...
- 11 October - SloveniaSlovenia national football teamThe Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....
v Northern Ireland - 15 October - Northern Ireland v San MarinoSan Marino national football teamThe San Marino national football team is the national football team of San Marino, controlled by the San Marino Football Federation...
- 29 January - Local developer, Doug Elliott, announces that he will put up the rest of the money required by the George Best Memorial Fund to raise a life-size bronze sculpture of George BestGeorge BestGeorge Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
, and would manage delivery of the project.
GAA
- 20 July - FermanaghFermanagh GAAThe Fermanagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Fermanagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. The county board is also responsible for the Fermanagh inter-county teams-History:...
and ArmaghArmagh GAAThe Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh...
draw 1-11 to 2-08 in the final of the Ulster Senior Football Championship 2008Ulster Senior Football Championship 2008The Ulster Senior Football Championship 2008 was the 112th installment of the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship ran by the Ulster GAA. The eventual winners were Armagh who captured their sixth title since the turn of the century and 14th overall...
. - 27 July - Armagh defeat Fermanagh 1-11 to 0-08 in the replay.
- 20 September - TyroneTyrone GAAThe Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams....
defeat KerryKerry GAAThe Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
1-15 to 0-14 to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2008All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2008The 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was that year's Gaelic football championship, having kicked off on May 11 and ended with the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park on September 21...
.
Rugby Union
- RBS Six Nations Championship
- 2 February - IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
16 - 11 ItalyItaly national rugby union teamThe Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,... - 9 February - FranceFrance national rugby union teamThe France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
26 - 21 Ireland - 23 February - Ireland 34-13 ScotlandScotland national rugby union teamThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
- 8 March - Ireland 12-16 WalesWales national rugby union teamThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
- 15 March - EnglandEngland national rugby union teamThe England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
33-10 Ireland
Deaths
- 13 April - Robert GreacenRobert GreacenRobert Greacen was an Irish poet and member of Aosdána. Born in Derry, Ireland, on 24 October 1920, he was educated at Methodist College Belfast and Trinity College Dublin...
, poet (b.19201920 in Ireland-Events:*27 February - The text of the Home Rule Bill to be introduced in the British House of Commons is published. It provides for the establishment of a 128-member parliament in Dublin and a 52-member parliament in Belfast....
). - 16 May - William Blease, Baron BleaseWilliam Blease, Baron BleaseWilliam John Blease, Baron Blease JP was a British politician.Blease, the son of William John Blease and Sarah Watts, was educated at McClure Public Elementary School and Belfast Technical College, the National Council Labour Colleges and then the Workers' Educational Association.Blease worked...
, trade unionist and politician (b.19141914 in Ireland-Events:*17 January - Edward Carson inspects a parade of the East Belfast Regiment of the Ulster Volunteers.*20 February - The Fethard-on-Sea life-boat capsizes on service off the County Wexford coast: nine crew are lost....
). - 19 July - Sarah ConlonSarah ConlonSarah Conlon was a Northern Irish housewife and a prominent campaigner in one of the most high-profile miscarriage of justice cases in British legal history...
, housewife and successful campaigner for the release of the Guildford Four (b.19261926 in Northern Ireland-Events:*21 January - The Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture meets his Free State counterpart, Patrick Hogan. The meeting paves the way for co-operation in securing better animal health for livestock.*The population of Northern Ireland is 1,257,000....
). - 25 August - David Hammond, singer, film-maker and broadcaster (b.19281928 in Northern Ireland-Events:*29 January - In Belfast, members of the nationalist opposition protest at the Ulster Unionist Party government's plan to abolish Proportional representation.*19 May - The foundation stone of the new Northern Ireland Parliament Building is laid at Stormont....
).