December 2025: Looking back on the Derry defining stories of the year

As 2025 came to a close, local and international matters came to the fore.

A public consultation was launched on the proposed building of student accommodation on the current Desmond Motors Strand Road site.

Plans to transform the site into new 500-bed student accommodation were unveiled, with a pre-application community consultation taking place in Derry’s Da Vinci’s hotel on December 5.

Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan (SDLP) said: “As we continue our efforts to see a properly resourced university at Magee reaching the New Decade, New Approach commitment to 10,000 students, it is clear we need to expand accommodation for students within our city”.

Welcoming the proposal, Derry City and Strabane District councillor Sandra Duffy (Sinn Féin) described it as a “game-changer”.

“This proposed application demonstrates the increased confidence in the private sector that we are turning a corner when it comes to historical neglect of the north west and this is a direct result of the work of the Economy Minister and also the Magee Taskforce.”

'Free Marwan Barghouti’ campaign

Tommy McKearney, main speaker, former H Block prisoner, hunger striker of 1980 and co founder of FFP, with Kate Nash and Eamon McCann at the Five For Palestine Rally at Free Derry Corner to coincide with the official launch of the Free Marwan Barghouti campaign. PHOTO: Tom Heaney, nwpresspics.

Also in December, the Derry launch of the ‘Free Marwan Barghouti’ campaign, organised by the ‘Five for Palestine’ group, took place at a rally at Free Derry Corner.

Marwan Barghouti is considered to be the Nelson Mandela of Palestine. He has been in prison in Israel for 23 years.
Co-founder of ‘Five for Palestine’, former H Block prisoner and 1980 Hunger Striker Tommy McKearney, said: “As prisoners we have an empathy with prisoners wherever they are, particularly Palestinians and the people in England at the moment.

“Palestine is the current cause of humanity. The Palestinian people have endured years of oppression since the hideous Nakba in 1948 - preceded of course by the British devastation of Palestine with their colonial ambitions - but of late the horrendous genocide committed by the Zionist regime.”

Awareness Walk to End Violence Against Women and Girls

Deputy Mayor, Alderman Niree McMorris (DUP) attended December’s Awareness Walk to End Violence Against Women and Girls, along Derry Quay.

In doing so, she was reaffirming Derry City and Strabane District Council’s strong commitment to ensuring safer homes, workplaces, and public spaces for all women and girls.

By standing in solidarity with residents, survivors, and campaigners, the Deputy Mayor helped amplify the event’s central message that “the entire community is united in demanding dignity, respect, and safety for every woman and girl, and in working together towards a future free from violence”.

No prosecution for British soldier who shot dead Billy McGreanery

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) announced in December it was not going to prosecute Soldier A for the murder of Derry man Billy McGreanery.

Mr McGreanery (41) was shot by a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards at the junction of Eastway, Lonemoor Road and Westland Street in Derry, on the evening of September 14, 1971. He underwent surgery at Altnagelvin Hospital but died in the early hours of September 15.

Temporary closure of Nazareth House Primary School

Nazareth House Primary School was also forced to temporarily close its doors in December following an Education Authority (EA) assessment revealed urgent safety concerns regarding the school’s roofing structures. Remedial work began immediately with the school re-opening in the short term in premises at St Anne’s Primary School in Rosemount.

The closure intensified existing scrutiny over the deteriorating condition of the North’s wide school estate, including Derry’s St Eugene’s Primary School and Lumen Christi College, which faces and estimated repair bill of up to £800 million pounds.

Lengthy gynaecology waiting lists in WHSCT

It was also in December the Western Health and Social Care Trust acknowledged “gynaecology waiting lists in the Trust and regionally are unacceptably high”.

A spokesperson for the Trust added: “We sincerely apologise to our patients for the delays and the impact this may have on their care”.

The Trust apology came in the same week a Derry mother opened up about her experience of endometriosis in a bid to help other women and girls gong through the same experience.

The woman was finally diagnosed with endometriosis three years ago, when she was 40.

She said: “I had been going to doctors for years, from my late teens. I always had problems with my periods but I was never referred for a gynaecology appointment. I was never formally diagnosed with endometriosis.

“And then in March 2024, I was in the gym with my brother and sister and as I was coming out, I collapsed with terrible pains in my stomach. It was only then I was seen by a gynaecologist and received an endometriosis diagnosis.”

Derry has highest number of deaths of homeless people

A sombre note was struck in December with the revelation the Derry City and Strabane District Council had the highest estimated number of homeless people in the North in the last four years.

The estimated mortality rate in Derry City and Strabane District Council area was 11.41 per 100,000 aged 15 to 74. The estimated rate of all homeless deaths across the North last year was 4.11 per 100,000 population aged 15 to 74.

The shocking statistics were contained in this month’s NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) report: ‘Deaths of Homeless People in Northern Ireland’.

Thumbs up from the Grinch during the annual santa ski on the Foyle held on Sunday and organised by the Irish Jet Ski Club. (Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

Joint Emergency Services Northwest Community Carol Service

Meanwhile, a large congregation filled St Columb’s Cathedral in December for the annual Joint Emergency Services Northwest Community Carol Service.

The event provided a moment of reflection and gratitude for the sacrifice and dedication of the North’s ‘blue light’ services and first responders. The service was led by the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart.