Queen's Jubilee birthday honours: Dame Arlene Foster thrilled by award

Former Northern Ireland first minister Arlene Foster has said she is "thrilled and delighted" to be made a dame in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

She is one of dozens of Northern Ireland people to be included on the list.

The head of Northern Ireland's Covid-19 vaccination programme Patricia Donnelly has been appointed OBE.

Mervyn Gibson, the Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, has been appointed MBE.

Others on the list include the former head of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, Aodhán Connolly; Noel McKee, a former firefighter who has raised more than £1m for charity; Irish hockey international Shirley McCay; and Sarah Ewart, who campaigned for changes to Northern Ireland's abortion law.

Dame Arlene represented the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone in the Northern Ireland Assembly for 18 years.

She became DUP leader in December 2015 and, the following month, was appointed first minster, the first woman to hold the role.

The honour comes just more than a year after Dame Arlene was forced to resign as DUP leader and first minister after an internal party revolt.

"This is the Platinum Jubilee year and Her Majesty the Queen has given so much devotion and service to the country, so to receive it in her Platinum Jubilee year is really special for me - it's a real thrill for me," she said.

"I am absolutely delighted that it has come in this year of celebration of all that there is to do with the monarchy."

Since leaving active politics last year, she has taken on a number of roles including presenter on the TV station, GB News.

Dame Arlene said her honour was a recognition of "the years of service to Fermanagh and South Tyrone and to Northern Ireland as a whole as the first female first minister".

Asked whether she expects people will address her by her new title, Dame Arlene replied: "I'll always be Arlene from Fermanagh."

She said for the Queen to have served for such a long time and with such "distinction was incredible".

"She will go down, I think, as Elizabeth the Great, it has for us been a huge privilege to have lived through what has been the Elizabethan age."

Patricia Donnelly, who became a familiar face in the media during the Covid-19 pandemic as head of Northern Ireland's vaccine programme, said receiving the letter with the news of her OBE appointment was "really very emotional".

Dr Donnelly said she would accept it on behalf of the entire team that worked on the vaccination roll out.

"It is a team effort, it was that army of people who did that superhuman job and continue to do it," she said.

Health Minister Robin Swann paid tribute to Dr Donnelly, saying her award was "a richly deserved honour that is a fitting tribute to someone who played such a pivotal role throughout the pandemic".

Mervyn Gibson said he was "very honoured and very humbled" to be appointed MBE for services to the community in Northern Ireland.

Rev Gibson was a Special Branch officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) before he became a Presbyterian minister.

He recently helped lead celebrations for Northern Ireland's centenary at an Orange Order event in Belfast attended by around 100,000 people.

"When the letter comes through and you open it and read it, you sort of think - is this a joke from a friend?" he said.

Aodhán Connolly, the former director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, came to prominence voicing the concerns of Northern Ireland traders throughout the Brexit process.

He recently left the organisation to take up a position with the Northern Ireland Executive's office in Brussels.

"This award is as much a recognition of the collective work and dedication of the Northern Ireland Business Brexit Working Group as it is for me personally," he said.

Former firefighter Noel McKee has now been appointed OBE, having been appointed MBE two decades ago.

The veteran charity fundraiser from Whitehead, County Antrim, who has helped raise more than £1m for good causes, has said he has no intention of stopping now.

"The buzz you can get from doing something for someone else or an organisation with no suggestion of anything back in return - to do something for nothing gives you such a great feeling."

Commonly awarded ranks:

The full list of Queen's Birthday Honours recipients in Northern Ireland can be seen below:

Dames Commander of the British Empire (DBE)

Arlene Foster, former Northern Ireland first minister; for political and public service

Fionnuala Mary Jay-O'Boyle, lord lieutenant, County Borough of Belfast; for services to the community in Northern Ireland

Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB)

Tracy Meharg, permanent secretary at the Department for Communities; for public service

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Eugene Joseph Bradley; for service to defence medicine

Dr Tony McGleenan QC, senior crown counsel in Northern Ireland; for services to justice

Prof James Andrew McLaughlin, head of the school of engineering at Ulster University; for services to higher education and research

Prof Stephen Smartt, professor of astrophysics at Queen's University; for services to science

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Lisa Bennett-Dietrich, chief executive of Community Relations in Schools; for services to peace, education and community reconciliation in Northern Ireland

Terrence Hugh Brannigan, chairman of Tourism Northern Ireland; for services to tourism and to the business community in Northern Ireland

Simon Wallis Irwin Burrowes, editor of Debates, Hansard, and head of public engagement at the Northern Ireland Assembly; for services to parliament and sport in Northern Ireland

Alan Dinsmore, principal scientific officer at Forensic Science Northern Ireland; for services to justice and forensic science

Patricia Donnelly, head of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Northern Ireland; for services to the Covid-19 response

Sarah Jane Ewart; for services to abortion legal reform in Northern Ireland

Lyndon Robert Campbell Hughes-Jennett, Northern Ireland attaché at the British Embassy in Washington; for services to the community in Northern Ireland

Sean Terence Hogan, chair of the TB Eradication Partnership; for services to the agricultural industry in Northern Ireland

Nigel James Keery, head of estates operations at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; for services to public health

Mary Elizabeth Lemon, principal officer at the Department of Justice; for services to the justice system and to vulnerable people

Noel William McKee; for services to charity in Northern Ireland

Col John William Rollins; for services to the armed forces in Northern Ireland

Dawn Cynthia Shaw, chief executive of the NI Guardian Ad Litem Agency; for services to social work in the voluntary and community sector

Amanda Stewart, former chief executive of the Northern Ireland Policing Board; for public service

Donna Lynne Williams; director of supplies and services division, construction and procurement delivery at the Northern Ireland Civil Service; for public and charitable service

Suzanne Kathryn Wylie, former chief executive at Belfast City Council; for services to local government in Northern Ireland

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Prof Gillian Alexandra Armstrong, professor of business education and director of the Business Engagement Unit at Ulster University; for services to higher education and business

Samuel Bell; for voluntary services to people with disabilities and their carers in Northern Ireland

Clifford James Brooks; for services to visual arts in Northern Ireland

Margaret Anne Brown, solicitor; for services to legal education and charity in Northern Ireland

June Eleanor Ann Cairns, ward manager of the Acute Frailty and Rehabilitation Ward at Lagan Valley Hospital; for services to health and social care in Northern Ireland

Elizabeth Lorraine Campbell, interim chair of Supporting Communities; for services to the community in Northern Ireland

Dr Brian Patrick Caul; for voluntary service to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People in Northern Ireland

Angila Chada, executive director at Springboard Opportunities Limited; for services to Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

Aodhán Connolly, former director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium; for services to the Economy.

Patricia Sarah Corbett; for services to the community in Belfast

Deborah Jessica Corry; for services to civil contingency

Albert Gordon Cunningham, chairman at Cunningham Covers Ltd; for services to economic development in Northern Ireland

Francis Ephraim Dempsey, volunteer, Royal Ulster Constabulary GC; for voluntary and charitable services to policing and to the community in Northern Ireland

Alexander Colin Dickson, owner of Dicksons Roses; for services to horticulture in Northern Ireland

Rev Mervyn Gibson; for services to the community in Northern Ireland

Dr Margaret Elizabeth Hardy; for services to the poultry industry in Northern Ireland

Colin Hayburn, executive director of Almac; for services to economic development and philanthropy in Northern Ireland

Brenda Herron, former chief commissioner at Girlguiding Ulster; for services to young people

Prof Joanne Elizabeth Hughes, director at the Centre for Shared Education, Queen's University; for services to education and to the community in Northern Ireland

Timothy Philip Maxwell Irwin, director at the Northern Ireland Environment Agency; for public service.

Mary Paula Jordan, principal, Sperrinview Special School, Dungannon, County Tyrone; for services to education in Northern Ireland

Richard David John Kirkpatrick; for services to the equine sector in Northern Ireland

Barbara Hilary Lewis; for services to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the health and social care sector in Northern Ireland

James Lindsay; for voluntary service to education in Killyleagh, County Down

Shirley McCay; for services to hockey and to the community in Northern Ireland

James McClean, chair, Ballymena and District Branch of Parkinson's UK; for services to people with Parkinson's in County Antrim

Josephine Anne McConaghy; for services to vulnerable families in the Lisburn area

Samuel Thomas McGregor, member of the governing body at North West Regional College; for services to further education and to the community in Northern Ireland

John Andrew McIlmoyle, vice-principal, Longstone Special School, Dundonald; for services to education and to children with special educational needs

Gillian Elizabeth Montgomery, speech and language therapist, Northern Health and Social Care Trust; for services to healthcare in Northern Ireland

Sean Daniel Mullan; for services to the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service

Adam Dominic Murphy, co-founder and chief executive at Shnuggle; for services to the economy in Northern Ireland

Philip Alexander O'Neill, chief operating officer, Translink; for services to sustainable and accessible transport in Northern Ireland

Eilish Rutherford; for services to sport and to charity in Northern Ireland

Helen Mary Setterfield, chair, OGCancer NI; for services to patients and families affected by oesophago-gastric cancer

David William Smyth QC; for services to the community in Northern Ireland

Richard James Gregg Yarr; for services to music in Northern Ireland.

Abraham Agnew; for services to the community and environment in Northern Ireland

Marjorie Aitken; for services to older people in Northern Ireland

Leanne Victoria Louise Barnett, deputy director of strategic communications and engagement, Police Service of Northern Ireland; for services to policing

Mervyn Thomas Bell; for services to Surestart and to the community in Belfast during Covid-19

Patricia Mary Browne, chair, Portaferry Fundraising Branch, Royal National Lifeboat Institution; for services to maritime safety in County Down

Ruth Elizabeth Anne Campbell; for services to cancer patients and their families in Northern Ireland

Dr Alan Cooper, former member of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside; for services to the environment

Douglas Alexander Crowe; for services to young people in north Belfast

Liam Cunningham; for voluntary service to young people in Northern Ireland

John Fitzgerald Degnan, manager and chief fundraiser, Eilish Degnan Children's Foundation; for services to patients and their families at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children

Emma Jane Devenny, special educational needs classroom assistant, Drumachose Primary School, Limavady; for services to children with special educational needs

Christine May Gemmell; for services to the Army Widows Association

Ivan Noel Gilmour; for voluntary services to cancer patients and their families

Catherine Eileen Gleave, co-founder, GIFT International; for voluntary and charitable service

Margaret Geraldine Hill; for services to young people in Northern Ireland

Barbara Ann Hunter, access officer, policy and practice, Ulster University; for services to education

Mary Elizabeth Evelyn Irwin; for services to the Women's Institute and to the community in County Tyrone

Gerald Knight; for voluntary service to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People in Northern Ireland

Iain Lendrum, chairman, Royal British Legion Club and Coronavirus Response Group, Fivemiletown; for services to the community in County Tyrone during Covid-19

Dr Venie Martin, chair, Causeway University of the Third Age; for services to older people in Northern Ireland

Alacoque Teresa McCaffrey, occupational health nurse, Western Health and Social Care Trust; for services to occupational health, particularly during Covid-19

Ethel Ruby McClelland; for services to the community in County Tyrone

Stephen McComb, networks leakage technician, Northern Ireland Water; for services to the community in Belfast

Andrew Drummond McCrea; for services to cricket and to young people in Northern Ireland

Roberta McNally; for services to remembrance in Northern Ireland

James Roy Morrison; for services to triathlon in Northern Ireland

Robert Alexander Nesbitt; for services to association football and to young people in Northern Ireland.

Prof Julian David Orford, member, Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside; for services to the environment

Robert John Robertson; for services to St John's Parish Church, Fivemiletown, County Tyrone

Shauna Elizabeth Scroggie, community service officer, Probation Board; for services to criminal justice

Eileen Gay Sherry-Bingham, centre leader, Atlas Women's Centre; for services to disadvantaged women in Lisburn particularly during Covid-19

Elizabeth Shields; for services to fundraising and to the community in Northern Ireland

Ronald William Smyth; for services to hockey in Northern Ireland

Diane Elizabeth Tregaskis-Sloan; for services to the community In Northern Ireland

Ivan Marshall Walker; for services to the community in Markethill, County Armagh

Janet Amanda Wilson; co-founder, GIFT International; for voluntary and charitable service

Queen's Police Medal (QPM)

Grahame Wilson Sillery, detective constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Richard Samuel Taylor, constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Darren Welsh, sergeant, Police Service of Northern Ireland

Queen's Ambulance Medal (QAM)

Alwyn Craig Wilson, emergency medical technician and hospital ambulance liaison officer, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service