2011 in Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
Events
- 4 January—A partial solar eclipseSolar eclipseAs seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
was visible during sunrise in Northern Ireland. - 5 January—Edward StevensonEdward StevensonEdward Stevenson was a prominent Mormon missionary of the 19th century. He also served as a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as one of the seven presidents of the Seventy....
elected grand master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, replacing Robert Saulters, who held the post for 14 years - 26 January—British prime minister David CameronDavid CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
announced that Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
's Gerry AdamsGerry AdamsGerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
had resigned from the British parliamentResignation from the British House of CommonsMembers of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
and was appointed Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of NorthsteadManor of NorthsteadThe Manor of Northstead was once a collection of fields and farms in the parish of Scalby in the North Riding of Yorkshire in England. By 1600, the manor house had fallen into disrepair and was occupied only by a shepherd. At present the Manor is part of the Barrowcliff area of the town of...
. This resignation was to enable Adams to stand in the general election in the Republic of Ireland in the LouthLouth (Dáil Éireann constituency)Louth is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies...
constituency, where he was successfully elected. - 10 June – Sinn FéinSinn FéinSinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
's Paul MaskeyPaul MaskeyPaul John Maskey is an Irish republican politician in Northern Ireland who is a member of Sinn Féin. He has been a Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West since 2007, and was elected in June 2011 as Member of Parliament for the Westminster constituency of Belfast West,...
wins the West Belfast by-electionBelfast West by-election, 2011The Belfast West by-election, 2011 was a by-election for the United Kingdom constituency of Belfast West following the resignation of the constituency's Member of Parliament, Gerry Adams...
. - 6 November – Alasdair McDonnell elected new SDLP leader.
- 30 November – Thousands of public sector workers across Northern Ireland strike in the biggest walk-out in a generation.
The Arts
- 4 January—Author Maggie O'FarrellMaggie O'FarrellMaggie O'Farrell is a British author of contemporary fiction, who features in Waterstones' 25 Authors for the Future It is possible to identify several common themes in her novels – the relationship between sisters is one, another is loss and the psychological impact of those losses on the lives...
, born in ColeraineColeraineColeraine is a large town near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is northwest of Belfast and east of Derry, both of which are linked by major roads and railway connections...
, won the 2010 Costa novel awardCosta Book AwardsThe Costa Book Awards are a series of literary awards given to books by authors based in Great Britain and Ireland. They were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until 2005, after which Costa Coffee, a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship....
for her novel, The Hand That First Held Mine .
GAA
- 17 March—Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) defeated St. Bridgid's (Roscommon) 2-11 to 1-11 to win the All-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipAll-Ireland Senior Club Football ChampionshipThe All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...
. - 17 July-DonegalDonegal GAAThe Donegal County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Donegal GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Donegal. The county board is also responsible for the Donegal inter-county teams.Gaelic football is strongest in the...
defeat DerryDerry GAAThe Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for Gaelic games in the GAA county of Derry, which covers virtually the same territory as the former administrative county of Londonderry...
1-11 to 0-08 to win the Ulster Senior Football ChampionshipUlster Senior Football ChampionshipFor information on this years competition, see Ulster Senior Football Championship 2011-2010 Draw:-2009 Draw:-2008 Draw:-Top winners:* All-Ireland winning years in bold.-Roll of honour:Notes:* 1907 No final result in records...
.
Deaths
- 2 January—Pete PostlethwaitePete PostlethwaitePeter William "Pete" Postlethwaite, OBE, was an English stage, film and television actor.After minor television appearances including in The Professionals, Postlethwaite's first success came with the film Distant Voices, Still Lives in 1988. He played a mysterious lawyer, Mr...
, 64: Actor, of cancer. Portrayed Giuseppe Conlon, father of Gerard Conlon, one of the Guildford Four, in the 1994 film In the Name of the Father. - 29 January—Raymond McCleanRaymond McCleanRaymond McClean was an Irish nationalist politician.McClean studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Medical School in Dublin, where he qualified as a medical doctor, before joining the Royal Air Force. He then worked as a general practitioner in Derry, also acting as club doctor to...
, 78: former SDLPSocial Democratic and Labour PartyThe Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
Mayor of DerryDerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
, civil rights activist, author. - 6 February—Gary MooreGary MooreRobert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....
, 58: former Thin LizzyThin LizzyThin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
guitarist. Heart attack while on holiday in EsteponaEsteponaEstepona is a town and municipality in the region of the Costa del Sol, southern Spain. It is located in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. Estepona is renowned for its beaches, which stretch along some 21 km of coastline...
, Spain.