In Pictures: Success for Sinn Féin although Stormont stays mothballed in 2023

Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill (left) and president Mary Lou McDonald at Belfast City Hall as the results came in for the Northern Ireland local elections (Liam McBurney/PA)

Stormont has had a quiet 2023 with the institutions yet to get up and running, but the emergence of Sinn Féin as Northern Ireland’s largest party at council level ensured it was nonetheless a landmark year.

The historic Republican party had a triumphant night at local government polls but, due to political deadlock over trading arrangements, Michelle O’Neill has still not yet taken up her likely role as first minister because of the constraints of powersharing despite being the largest party in Assembly elections in 2022.