2012 in Northern Ireland

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2012
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Northern Ireland

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Centuries:

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21st

Decades:

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2000s
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Events

March

17 March – Saint Patrick's Day parade and carnival in Belfast city centre and Custom House Square.^[1]
31 March – Former broadcast journalist Mike Nesbitt elected leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.^[2]

April

15 April – RMS Titanic maiden voyage centenary celebrations, including opening of £90m Titanic Belfast visitor facility.^[1]^[3]

May

3 May – Bairbre de Brún submitted her resignation to the European Parliament as MEP for Northern Ireland.^[4]
22 May – Murder of Michaela McAreavey trial began in Mauritius.^[5]

June

Lord Mayor's Parade in Belfast.^[1]
Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee celebrations throughout Northern Ireland.^[1]^[3]
26 June – The Queen began a two-day visit to Northern Ireland in Enniskillen.^[6]
27 June – The Queen met former IRA commander Martin McGuinness for the first time, in Belfast. They met and shook hands in private in the McGrath Suite of the Lyric Theatre. The meeting was witnessed by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Northern Ireland first minister, Peter Robinson, the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, and his wife, Sabina. The Queen and McGuinness shook hands once more in public for the benefit of the media. It was also the first meeting between the Queen and the recently-elected President Higgins.^[7]^[8]

July

3 July – Giant's Causeway Visitors' Centre designed by Heneghan Peng for the National Trust was opened.^[9]
12 July – Marching season culminated in The Twelfth celebration of the Glorious Revolution and the Battle of the Boyne.^[1]

August

16 August – Thirty antique accordions were stolen in County Down.^[10]

September

13 September – Fermanagh player Brian Óg Maguire died in an industrial accident in the Ballymaconnell Road area of Derrylin.^[11]
15 September – Ulster player Nevin Spence died in County Down. His father and brother also died.^[12]

October

4 October – Expelled Ulster Unionist Party member David McNarry, representing Strangford, joined the UK Independence Party, giving it its first representative in any of the devolved assemblies in Britain and Northern Ireland.^[13]
18 October – Marie Stopes International opened a clinic in Belfast.^[14]
23 October – Derry was named fourth in a top ten of cities to visit in 2013 by the travel guidebook Lonely Planet.^[15]

November

3 November – Match for Michaela at Casement Park.^[16]

December

3 December – Trouble flared in Belfast as hundreds of hooded Loyalists burn Irish tricolours and tried to storm Belfast City Hall.^[17]

The Arts

20 April – Belfast MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre), designed by Hackett Hall McKnight, opened.^[18]
June – European Pipe Band Championships in Stormont.^[1]
Glenn Patterson's novel The Mill for Grinding Old People Young was published.^[19]

Sports

January

16 January – Occupy Belfast: The Bank of Ireland was occupied in the city.^[20]
28 January – Irish Football League Cup final – Coleraine v Crusaders.^[21]

February

Irish Indoor Athletics Championships in the Odyssey Arena.^[1]

March

March 17 – Loughgiel Shamrocks (Antrim) won the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, defeating Coolderry GAA (Offaly) 4–13 to 0–07 in the final.^[22]
March 31 – Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship, defeating Garrycastle (Westmeath) 2–19 to 1–07 in the replay after the final initially ended in a 0–15 to 1–12 draw on March 17.^[23]

May

15 May – The most supported football team in Northern Ireland, Manchester United played a testimonial match for their former goalkeeper, Harry Gregg against an Irish Premiership Select XI in front of over 14,000 Northern Irish Manchester United fans at Windsor Park in Belfast.

^[24]

19 May – Ulster Rugby contested the 2012 Heineken Cup Final, losing 42–14 to Leinster Rugby.^[25]
Belfast City Marathon.^[1]

June

3 June – The Olympic Flame arrived in Belfast, with relay runners carrying it to towns, villages, and beauty spots throughout Northern Ireland.^[1]

July

22 July – Donegal defeated Down 2–18 to 0–13 to win a second consecutive Ulster Senior Football Championship.^[26]

August

British Transplant Games in Belfast.^[1]

Deaths

20 January - Lucy Faulkner, journalist, 86

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 A packed calendar of events makes Belfast the place to be in 2012 Belfast Telegraph, 2012-01-02.
↑ "Mike Nesbitt is new Ulster Unionist leader". BBC News (BBC). 31 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Queen's visit set to crown Titanic year as city comes into its own Belfast Telegraph, 2012-01-02.
↑ "Sinn Féin's Bairbre de Brún steps down as MEP for 'personal reasons'". RTÉ News (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
↑ "Michaela McAreavey murder accused to stand trial in Mauritius". RTÉ News. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
↑ Queen begins two-day tour of Northern Ireland The Guardian, 26 June 2012.
↑ The Queen and Martin McGuinness shake hands and make history The Guardian, 27 June 2012.
↑ Statement by President Michael D. Higgins following Cooperation Ireland event at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre, 27th June, 2012 Áras an Uachtaráin, 27 June 2012.
↑ Waite, Richard (2012-07-04), "Heneghan Peng's Giant's Causeway scheme finally opens doors", Architects' Journal, retrieved 2013-07-19
↑ "30 antique accordions stolen in Co Down". RTÉ News (RTÉ). 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
↑ "Fermanagh footballer killed in industrial accident". RTÉ News (RTÉ). 13 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
↑ "Nevin Spence killed in County Down slurry accident". BBC News (BBC). 15 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
↑ Moriarty, Gerry (4 October 2012). "Expelled UUP man joins UKIP". The Irish Times (Irish Times Trust). Retrieved 4 October 2012.
↑ "Marie Stopes private abortion clinic to open in Belfast". BBC News. BBC. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
↑ Carbery, Genevieve (23 October 2012). "Derry in Lonely Planet top list – The Irish Times – Tue, Oct 23, 2012". The Irish Times (The Irish Times Trust). Retrieved 23 October 2012.
↑ "Jim McGuinness names strong Donegal side to compete in Match for Michaela". The Score. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
↑ McKeown, Lesley-Anne (3 December 2012). "Protesters attempt to storm Belfast city hall after flag vote". Irish Independent (Independent News & Media). Retrieved 3 December 2012.
↑ "Belfast's new arts venue the MAC prepares to open". BBC News. 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
↑ Craig, Patricia (2012-04-13). "The Mill for Grinding Old People Young, By Glenn Patterson". The Independent (London). Retrieved 2012-04-24.
↑ "Protesters occupy bank in Belfast". RTÉ News (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). 16 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
↑ IRN-BRU League Cup final arrangements Irish Football Association, 2011.12.17.
↑ "Loughgiel win hurling club title". RTÉ Sport. March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
↑ "Crossmaglen 2-19 Garrycastle 1-07". RTÉ Sport. March 31, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
↑ "Manchester United beat Irish League 4-1 in Harry Gregg game". BBC Sport (BBC). 15 May 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
↑ "Leinster 42-14 Ulster". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). 19 May 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
↑ "Donegal 2-18 Down 0-13". RTÉ Sport (RTÉ). July 22, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.

2012 in Europe

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Dependencies, colonies and other territories	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey