May 2006 in Britain and Ireland

This page deals with current events in the English-speaking places of Europe. These are England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar.

22 May 2006 (Monday)

• Three Asian men are jailed for life for a murder during the 2005 race riots in Birmingham. (BBC)

17 May 2006 (Wednesday)

• Volunteers clearing up rubbish at the top of 4416' Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, are mystified to discover a piano buried in a cairn at the summit. Circumstantial evidence shows it may have been there for over 20 years. (BBC)

16 May 2006 (Tuesday)

• A Second World War 500 kg bomb is discovered at Twelve Quays Dock, Birkenhead, overnight by a naval survey team; causing the overnight ferries from Belfast and Dublin to Liverpool to be kept at sea until early afternoon. The Queensway road tunnel and the Wirral Line railway tunnel under the Mersey are closed until the bomb is floated away in a harness. The bomb will be taken 20 miles out to sea, before being exploded. (BBC)

British and Irish events by month

• 2007 in the United Kingdom: January February March April May June July
• 2006 in the United Kingdom: January February March April May June July August September October November December
• 2005 in the United Kingdom: January February March April May June July August September October November December
• 2004 in the United Kingdom: December

(For earlier events in Britain and Ireland, see November 2004 and preceding months)