Northern Ireland

Evening briefing: Co Antrim builder avoids jail over £32k extension fraud, prayers for priest after ‘freak accident’ on pilgrimage, and Blue Lights returns

Tuesday, 22 September 2026: Your evening catch-up on the Northern Ireland news making the headlines

Kyle Agnew appeared at Laganside court
Kyle Agnew appeared at Laganside court

News

  • Co Antrim builder who left couple’s home like ‘a shell’ in a £32,000 extension fraud avoids jail

A Co Antrim builder who left a couple’s home resembling “a shell” in a £32,000 extension fraud has avoided being sent to prison.

Kyle Agnew, 38, received a four-month suspended sentence for failing to complete a kitchen renovation at the south Belfast property which remains exposed to the elements.

  • Garvaghy Road residents call for ‘international mediator’ over Drumcree dispute

Nationalist residents on the Garvaghy Road have called for an international mediator to be brought in to resolve the Drumcree parades dispute.

Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition (GRRC), was speaking after the group met with the Prades Commission on Tuesday.

  • Derry man pleads guilty to possessing assault rifle seized by police during undercover surveillance operation

A Derry man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possessing an assault rifle seized by police during an undercover surveillance operation.

Patrick James Collett (58), of Rossnagalliagh in the city, hobbled into the dock of Belfast Crown Court on crutches to be formally re-arraigned on a charge he had previously denied.

  • Call for prayers for Co Antrim priest who suffered spinal injury in ‘freak accident’ during pilgrimage

There are calls for prayers for a Co Antrim priest following a ‘freak accident’ in which he suffered a serious spinal injury.

Fr Aidan O’Kane, who is originally from the Glens of Antrim, is recovering following surgery after an accident while on a pilgrimage in Međugorje, Bosnia.

Entertainment

  • Blue Lights cast reveal more about shock return for beloved character cruelly killed off in series one

Few jobs come with quite as much pressure as policing the streets of Belfast, which is one reason Blue Lights has made such compelling viewing since its launch in 2023.

Mixing edge-of-your-seat tension, dark humour and believable characters against the still turbulent backdrop of the ‘post-Troubles’ north, the series has earned widespread acclaim, including a Bafta for best drama last year.

Next week, it’s back for a fourth series.

We speak to Nathan Braniff, Siân Brooke and Frank Blake about returning to duty for the fourth series of the hit Belfast-set BBC cop show.

  • ‘I was at the height of my success – but behind the scenes I was falling apart’: Mammy Banter’s Serena Terry

Back on top form after a period of exhaustion and depression – as well as an ADHD diagnosis – Derry comedian Serena Terry tells Gail Bell that comedy comes from the strangest of places.

Sport

  • Errigal have another level insists McGinley after statement win over Trillick

Enda McGinley believes his Errigal Ciaran side can rise to a new level following a statement win over Trillick.

He feels there’s more in his talented and driven group of players than they showed in the seven-point victory that set up a Connollys of Moy Tyrone SFC semi-final clash with champions Loughmacrory.

  • A nation reborn: How football, Dua Lipa and Action Bronson are spearheading Kosovo’s cultural and sporting rise

Just 10 years after their first-ever game and Kosovo are establishing themselves as a potent force.

Andy Watters explains more as he looks at the nation’s resurgence in world football.