Today the Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, KStJ, takes over the role of Knight Commander of Ards, the head of the Order of St John in Northern Ireland. The Commandery of Ards overseas the Order's activities in Northern Ireland, which are primarily focused on St John Ambulance NI. He succeeds the Viscount Brookeborough, KG, KStJ.

​The Commandery of Ards sits within the Priory of England and the Islands of the Order of St John. The Order of St John is a British Order of Chivalry, with HM The Queen as Sovereign Head. HRH The Duke of Gloucester is the Grand Prior.

24th June marks the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist or “St John’s Day”. The Order is dedicated to John the Baptist and it has the motto "Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum", which translates as 'For Faith, For Service to Humanity' and reflects the Order's Christian values. 

The Lord-Lieutenant's appointment as a Knight of St John can be view on the London Gazette by clicking here.

Congratulations to the 19 people from County Antrim who were honoured in The Queen's Birthday Honours list released this evening. County Antirm continues to have a high percentage of the honours issued in Northern Ireland. The honours issued are made up of 8 MBEs and 11 BEMs.

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, expressed his hearty congratulations to all the recipients and thanked them for their selfless service to the community and Northern Ireland as a whole.

The full County honours list is as follows:

Order of the British Empire

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
 
Mrs Afaf Abdrabou ALY - Lisburn
 
Chair, Egyptian Society of Northern Ireland. For services to UK-Egypt Relations and Anti-racism in Northern
Ireland (County Antrim).
 
Mr David Alexander BROOKES -Lisburn
 
Civilian Security Officer, Northern Ireland Security and Guarding Service. For services to Defence and to Charity (County Antrim)
 
Ms Margaret Christine DAVIS -Whiteabbey
 
For services to Community Relations in Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Mr David JEFFREY-Newtownabbey
 
Manager, Ballymena Utd. For services to Association Football and Community
Relations in Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Mr Stanley James LEE -Ballymoney
 
For services to People with Learning Difficulties in Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Mrs Marian MCCOUAIG - Ballycastle
 
Principal, Kylemore Nursery School, Coleraine, Ulster. For services to Education (County Antrim)
 
Mrs Angela Eileen REID -Islandmagee
 
For services to Care Home Residents particularly during Covid-19 (County Antrim)
 
Mr John STUART- Ballymena
 
For services to the community in Ballymena, County Antrim (County Antrim)
 
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
 
Miss Lynsey Anne AGNEW-Lisburn
 
For services to the Lisburn Foodbank, especially during the Covid-19 Crisis (County Antrim)
 
Mr Andrew COCHRANE -Ballymena
 
For services to Disability Sport and Mental Health Awareness (County Antrim)
 
Mrs Tracey Yvonne ELLIOTT -Lisburn
 
Manager, Lisburn Unit, St John Ambulance. For voluntary service to St John Ambulance and the community in
Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Mr Thomas David HAIGHTON -Carrickfergus
 
For services to Adults with Learning and Physical Disabilities (County Antrim)
 
Stephen John MCCOY-Toomebridge
 
Fundraiser, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. For services to the community and Charity in Toomebridge, County Antrim
(County Antrim)
 
 Trevor MCKENDRY-Cullybackey
 
Maintenance Foreman, Education Authority, Northern Ireland. For services to Education (County Antrim)
 
Mrs Pamela-Ann NUGENT-Carryduff
 
Personal Secretary, Executive Officer 2, Department of Finance. For services to Men and Boys with Eating Disorders in Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Miss Valerie Elizabeth PEACOCK -Ballymena
 
For services to the Children’s Hospice, Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Anna Rosemary STEELE- Stoneyford
 
For services to Cross Community Relations in Northern Ireland (County Antrim)
 
Mrs Deborah Elizabeth WALKER-Carrickfergus
 
For services to the community in Belfast (County Antrim)
 
Robert Alexander YARR -Upper Ballinderry
 
For services to Church Choral Music in Ballinderry Parish Church (County Antrim)


The full honours list can be viewed on the London Gazette website, by clicking here or copying the following link:

www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63377/supplement/B1

If you know someone worthy of an honour, have a look at our dedicated honours page or do please get in touch.

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, presented the Ballymoney Branch of the Royal British Legion with their Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The Ballymoney Branch won the QAVS in 2020, but due to COVID19 the presentation was delayed. The QAVS is known as the MBE for volunteers groups.

The Lord-Lieutenant presented the QAVS to the President of the Ballymoney Branch, Major John Pinkerton TD, DL, a retired Deputy Lieutenant of County Antrim. 

The timing was significant as next week see the 100th birthday for the Royal British Legion. It also coincides with the Centenary celebrations of Northern Ireland. 

The Lord-Lieutenant was joined by the High Sheriff of County Antrim, Mrs Sue Pinkerton and the Mayor of Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council. The Mayor also presented with the Branch with a certificate to recognise their 100th birthday.

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:

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• 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.  

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• 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 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

The delayed Queen's Birthday Honours, which were due to be released in June, were announced today along with the COVID Honours list.

We are delighted to report that 28 people in County Antrim received national honours. 

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

www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/63135/supplement/B1

The results of this year’s QAVS (Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service) have just been officially announced by Buckingham Palace and the winners published in the London Gazette. Three organisations in County Antrim have been granted this prestigious accolade:

• Coaching4Christ (Ahoghill)
• Mae Murray Foundation (Larne) 
• The Ballymoney Branch of the Royal British Legion

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. The Award scheme was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The prestigious recognition is the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary groups. It is the highest form of civic award that can be granted to an organisation in recognition of the outstanding work of volunteers. Each applicant is subjected to a rigorous assessment process at both Northern Ireland and United Kingdom levels.

The Lord-Lieutenant for County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, has expressed his congratulations to the successful organisations. "I am delighted that three organisations from County Antrim have been granted the QAVS in 2020. The award is a wonderful achievement and it recognises the commitment and dedication of volunteers who make such an important contribution to their local communities. The importance of volunteering to civic life has never been more important than at the present time and I am delighted that so many volunteer groups across the County have been actively engaged in supporting their local communities during the present pandemic. I look forward to meeting the volunteers from each of the three successful organisations at their individual award ceremonies which will hopefully be organised in a few months’ time".

The three awardee groups this year represent a wide cross section of the innovative service being offered by volunteers:

Coaching 4 Christ – Based in Ahoghill, C4C aims to transform the lives of young people through sport. It has been operational for over 15 years during which time over 100,000 young people have benefitted from the services provided by the organisation’s 60 volunteers.

As a highly valued and respected part of the local community, its excellent reputation has spread across the globe and C4C is now recognised as an excellent example of good practice worldwide. As a result, volunteers have visited other countries such as Spain and Uganda to impart the organisation’s principles of commitment, unity and life transformation through sport. International visitors have also visited the Ahoghill centre in order to gain an insight into the organisation’s unique work with young people. The C4C Youth Academy currently has 250 young people enrolled. Volunteers help with sports coaching and character/lifestyle in the C4C centre itself as well as in schools, community centres, churches and other venues across Northern Ireland.

Mae Murray Foundation – Based in Larne, the Foundation provides support for the creation of an inclusive society with true participation for ALL in leisure and social settings, regardless of age or personal ability. The organisation has a vision that everyone should be able to participate within society regardless of complexity of support needed to do so.

​Approximately 600 people who are affected by social isolation and exclusion, as a result of disability, age, medical condition or caring responsibilities have benefited directly from the Foundation’s work. The volunteers are committed to improving outcomes of people of all ages and they work tirelessly to develop solution-based ideas to support inclusion for all. Formal partnership arrangements have been developed with several local authorities across Northern Ireland. The Foundation is highly respected at both regional and national level. It featured on the 2019 BBC Children in Need programme when there was a major feature on their ‘Inclusive Beaches’ initiative.

Ballymoney Branch of the Royal British Legion – This group is committed to supporting ex-service personnel and local communities in the Ballymoney area to prevent social isolation through shared activities and cross-community integration. The organisation has been recognised for the work which its 30 volunteers are doing in providing advice and
services to challenge issues such as loneliness within the local community. They promote the physical and mental well being of individuals many of whom live in areas of social deprivation. Comradeship is encouraged as well as actively encouraging opportunities for social integration. Each year the Branch reaches out to and supports over 900 people in the Ballymoney area and assists, in partnership with Council, in the delivery of a number of community related programmes. The Branch premises are used by a wide range of organisations in the Ballymoney area. Local members have also been involved with the Gurkha welfare Trust to build houses in Nepal.

Clearly the ‘volunteering’ spirit is still alive and well in County Antrim. The three organisations to be recognised in the 2020 QAVS awards demonstrate the importance for everyone to offer their time, knowledge and skills in supporting others. Presentation ceremonies will be held in due course as circumstances allow. This will provide a further opportunity to celebrate all that is good about volunteering in our society.

​If you would like to find out more about the QAVS, please have our look at our webpage, here, and visit the QAVS website: https://qavs.culture.gov.uk/

​The Government has announced that the Birthday Honours, released in June each year to mark Her Majesty The Queen's official birthday, will be delayed until the Autumn. This is to allow those who have contributed to the response to the coronavirus crisis to be included.

Anyone can nominate someone who lives in the UK for a national honour. This contribution during COVID19 could include:
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• frontline work supporting the most vulnerable members of society and those who have caught COVID-19
• providing critical care to COVID-19 patients
• developing innovations to support the vulnerable and those with COVID-19
• going to extraordinary lengths to keep critical services going
• volunteering in the community or for service organisations in support of those affected by COVID-19

For further information, and to download the COVID19 honours nomination form, please click on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-honours-nomination-form 

Please note that the COVID19 honours nominations must be submitted by email before the 24th July 2020.

For more information, click here to view our National Honours page, which contains some other useful links and advise.

The Lord-Lieutenant of County Antrim, Mr David McCorkell, is delighted to announce that 21 people from County Antrim have received National honours in the New Year's Honours List, which was released at 10:30pm by the London Gazette. For the full list, please click here:

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/62866/supplement/N1

The Lord-Lieutenant said "many, many congratulations to all those worthy recipients who have received National Honours. I am particularly pleased that 21 people from County Antrim have been recognised in the New Year's list. I am delighted for each and every one of you and I thank you for all that you have done. My very best wishes for the New Year."

If you think you know someone worthy of an honour, please do put them forward. Do not assume that someone else will do it. For further guidance, please see click here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.