To mark the centenary of Northern Ireland, Her Majesty The Queen sent a message to the people of Northern Ireland, which can be viewed by clicking here.

The Lieutenancy has also been involved in a number of events across County Antrim:

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, was involved in tree planting and beacon lighting ceremonies in Antrim, Ballymena and Ballymoney, which were organised by the respective Borough Councils.  He also attended a Service of Commemoration organised by Causeway Coast & Glens Council. 

Mrs Jackie Stewart, MBE, DL, also represented the Lieutenancy at a tree planting ceremony in Carrickfergus. 

Please find a selection of images from the events below:

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, would like to congratulate the three winners of the coveted Queen's Award for Enterprise from County Antrim.

The winners were announced today by The Gazette and are:

​
​

• Environmental Street Furniture was established in 2012. Based in Newtownabbey, the company designs and manufactures a range of innovative outdoor furniture  which is solar powered to offer IOT reporting, mobile phone charging and LED lighting. It has recently also launched a range of perimeter security products to protect pedestrians and buildings from terror attacks. The company had previously manufactured conventional outdoor furniture and had established a sales network across the world. It now sells in 26 markets worldwide and its top five markets are UAE, Hong Kong, Kazakstan, USA and Spain. Overseas sales have grown year on year  over three years by a total growth of 415%; and the percentage exported has risen from 40.5% to 78%. The company wins the Queens Award for International Trade  for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over three years.  

​

• InspecVision Ltd is based in Mallusk, Northern Ireland and started trading in 2003. They develop, manufacture and sell 2D and 3D measurement systems for inspection of manufactured  components. Their core sector is the sheet metal industry with customers producing components for the automotive, aerospace, defence and communications sectors. Customers feedback found a gap in the market for lower priced entry level machines which they developed, launched and now represents 25% of sales turnover. Their main competitors are multi-national companies with significantly greater resources in terms of finances, staff and brand awareness. Overseas sales have more than doubled in the last three years with customers in the United States, China, Germany, Mexico and Republic of Ireland. They reinvest back into the business on R&D into new products, product improvements and placing additional demonstration machines in customer showrooms. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Short Term Growth in overseas sales over the last three years.

 

• Texthelp Ltd was established in 1996 and is based in Antrim, Texthelp Ltd is a software company that creates software tools to help people with Literacy and Understanding by making software for students and adults with dyslexia, and for people learning or working in a second language. It believes that everyone's entitled to the best possible learning and language support on their own personal journey from literacy to life.' The company has offices in Antrim, Boston USA, and in Brisbane Australia. Over the past few years it has had 32 million users of its education software products. Its overseas sales have grown over the last six years by 215%; and the percentage exported has risen to 68%. The USA and Canada are its main markets and it has established new markets in the last six years in: Australia, UAE, Qatar, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Mexico. The company wins the Queen's Award for International Trade for Outstanding Continuous Growth in overseas sales over the last six years.

Please click here to see the full publication in the Gazette.

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, has now signed the Books of Condolence with all four Councils in County Antrim, following the passing of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh last week. Due to COVID19 restrictions, some of the books of condolence were virtual. A list of the books signed below:

 1) Mid & East Antrim Borough Council, to sign their virtual book of condolence, please click here

2) Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, to sign their virtual book of condolence, please click here

3) Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council,  to sign their virtual book of condolence, please click here

4) Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council,  to sign their virtual book of condolence, please click here

The pictures below correspond to the order of Council's listed above. 

Buckingham Palace have released details for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral:

• It will be a Ceremonial Royal Funeral, not a full State Funeral. 
• It will be held in Windsor, at St George’s Chapel, on Saturday 17th April at 3pm.
• The service will begin with a National minute’s silence in remembrance at 3pm.
• Following the funeral there will be a ceremonial procession within the grounds of Windsor Castle. 
• There will be a National period of mourning until 8am of 18th April (the day after the funeral).
• The Royal Family will be in an extended period of mourning until 22nd April. 
  
  

For further details of the funeral please click here to view the Palace’s full statement, or copy the following link:

https://www.royal.uk/funeral-duke-edinburgh-0

"It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 

His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.
Further announcements will be made in due course.  
​
The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."   

​To view the full statement released by Buckingham Palace, please click here

​The Lord-Lieutenant's Message of Condolence
 
"On behalf of the people of County Antrim, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to Her Majesty, The Queen and the rest of The Royal Family on the passing of His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
 
His Royal Highness will be first and foremost remembered as a family man and for his life of duty, purpose and devotion to Her Majesty, The Queen.  We also remember his significant contributions in many areas; in particular his service during The Second World War and his commitment to young people through the founding of The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme."
 
David McCorkell KStJ
Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim

The new Lord-Lieutenant's Cadets have just been announced. The two new cadets for County Antrim are:

* Cadet Staff Sergeant Ciara McKay, C Comp, 1st (NI) Bn ACF
* Cadet Corporal Ross Currie,  H Comp, 2nd (NI) Bn ACF

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, would like to congratulate the new cadets who were selected to represent the Army Cadets NI Battalion as Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant's Cadets for County Antrim.

The cadets will attend a ceremony at HM The Queen's official residence, Hillsborough Castle, where they will be presented with their certificate and badge of office by the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell.

To be a Lord-Lieutenant Cadet, you must be of the highest calibre and be nominated firstly by your Detachment Commander and Company Commander, the process moves on then when a meeting is convened by RFCA and attended by HM's Lord-Lieutenants and they select the cadet after reading their citation.

Each County has a Lord-Lieutenant, as well as the two County Borough's Belfast and Londonderry. The cadets will accompany their respective Lord-Lieutenants on official duties such as Remembrance Sunday and when members of the Royal Family come to Northern Ireland.

Lord-Lieutenant Cadets are selected from members of the Cadet Forces (Sea Cadet Corps, Combined Cadet Force, Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps) so to be selected it is a great honour for the cadets their parents and adult staff.

The Lord-Lieutenant will have four cadets until September 2021, as the term of last year’s cadets has been extended by six months due to them being unable to attend events due to COVID19.

For further information, please see the Army Cadets website, please click here to view.

It was appropriate that on International Woman's Day that the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mrs Miranda Gordon, DL, should raise the flag in Antrim, as part of the Fly the Flag initiative organised by local borough councils to mark Commonwealth Day 2021. The Vice Lord-Lieutenant was joined in Antrim by the Mayor of Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, Councillor Jim Montgomery. 

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, took part in a similar event in Ballymena, organised by Mid & East Antrim Borough Council. He was joined by Mayor, Councillor Peter Johnson. See the video link below.

At the event, the Mayor ​also presented the Lord-Lieutenant with a plaque to congratulate him on his recent appointment as a Knight of The Order of St John.

Mayor Johnston said: “I would like to take this opportunity to send my congratulations to the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell. This is a prestigious appointment and reflects the significant work that David carries out right across the community. On behalf of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, I am delighted to share our best wishes on this important occasion.”

Full article can be viewed here.

It was announced today in the London Gazette that the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, has been appointed by Her Majesty The Queen as a Knight of The Order of St John.

​
"The QUEEN has graciously pleased to sanction the following Promotions in, and Appointments to, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem with effect from 15 February 2021 the date of Her Majesty’s sign-manual.

COMMANDERY OF ARDS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

​As Knight
David William McCORKELL"

The full Gazette notice can be viewed here.

Congratulations to Mrs Susan Pinkerton on her appointment as High Sheriff of County Antrim for 2021, which was announced in the London Gazette today, she takes over from Mr Rupert Cramsie. To see the announcement, please click here. 

Mrs Susan Pinkerton lives at Seacon More, Ballymoney, County Antrim. Her husband Major John Pinkerton, TD, DL, was High Sheriff of County Antrim in 2015 and recently retired as a Deputy Lieutenant of the County.

Please click here to find out more about the role of High Sheriff and how it differs from the Lieutenancy. 

​​The New Year's Honours list is announced today and includes those who have been recognised for their work during COVID-19.

We are delighted to report that 22 people in County Antrim received national honours. Following the 28 people honored last time round, we are delighted that County Antrim continues to be well represented. 

The Full Honours list can be viewed on the London Gazette website by clicking here or by accessing the following link:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63218/supplement/N1