New Year Honours 2020: Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody becomes OBE
- Published
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody is among almost 100 people from Northern Ireland who feature on the Queen's New Year Honours list.
He becomes an OBE for services to music and charity.
This year his band's 2006 ballad Chasing Cars was named the most-played song of the 21st Century on UK radio.
On Saturday the government apologised after it accidentally published addresses of more than 1,000 New Year Honour recipients online.
The file - which included details of senior police officers and politicians - was uploaded to an official website on Friday evening and removed on Saturday.
The Cabinet Office told the BBC it was "looking into how this happened".
The PSNI said it was aware of "reports regarding the publication of addresses belonging to New Year's Honours recipients online" and was "working closely with the relevant Government Departments to determine what action, if any, needs to be taken".
Also recognised for services to music and charity are the Catholic clergymen who perform as the classical group The Priests - they each become an MBE.
Father David Delargy and brothers Fr Martin O'Hagan and Fr Eugene O'Hagan are priests from the Diocese of Down and Connor.
They have been singing together since the 1970s and released their debut album as The Priests in April 2008 after signing a record deal with a major label.
The Priests have found a worldwide following over the past decade
They have since sold several million records worldwide and have performed for the Royal Family, Pope Francis and the Irish president.
"Music can cut across all kinds of divides and difficulties and people can be united through song and harmony," Fr Eugene O'Hagan told BBC News NI.
"We have experienced that in the last 11 years."
The announcement of Lightbody's recognition comes just a few days after the death of his father Jack, who had dementia.
Lightbody founded the charitable organisation the Lightbody Foundation, which makes donations to charities in Northern Ireland.
It has helped groups promoting dementia care as well charities covering sectors including mental health, special educational needs and young people.
In a post on Instagram on Friday, the singer, from Bangor in County Down, said his father had "taught me and gave me so much".
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Sports stars also feature in the Queen's Honours, with the former Northern Ireland captain Aaron Hughes becoming an MBE for services to football.
The 40-year-old, from Cookstown in County Tyrone, retired this year after winning 112 international caps.
Aaron Hughes' long career in football came to an end in June
The Paralympic star Michael McKillop becomes an MBE for services to disability awareness and athletics in Northern Ireland.
The runner from Newtownabbey, County Antrim, was diagnosed with a mild form of cerebral palsy when he was aged two.
He has four Paralympic gold medals, four World Championship gold medals and two European Championship golds.
Michael McKillop says receiving an MBE is "very important and very special"
Speaking to BBC News NI, he said he was proud to be honoured.
"I run for the island of Ireland - I'm apolitical," he said.
"It doesn't matter who you are, what you are - if you support me I represent you whenever I go on the world stage and I've always stood by that."
The honours system
Commonly awarded ranks:
Companion of Honour - Limited to 65 people. Recipients wear the initials CH after their name
Knight or Dame
CBE - Commander of the Order of the British Empire
OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire
MBE - Member of the Order of the British Empire
BEM - British Empire Medal
Wilma Erskine, the outgoing secretary manager of Royal Portrush Golf Club, also makes the list, becoming an OBE for services to tourism and golf.
It is not the first time she has made the Queen's Honours list - she was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2015.
Ms Erskine retired as secretary manager after The Open Championship returned to the course in July - she had been in her role at the club for 35 years.
Wilma Erskine was a key figure behind the scenes at The Open at Royal Portrush in July
Alastair Hamilton, the former chief executive of Invest Northern Ireland, becomes a CBE.
He received his honour for services to economic development in Northern Ireland.
He stepped down from his post at the business development agency this year after a decade in the role.
Roseann Kelly said she was humbled by all the messages of congratulations
Roseann Kelly, the chief executive of Women In Business, becomes an MBE, also for services to economic development.
She has led the business support network over the past 10 years, helping to grow its membership from 80 to more than 2,500.
Ms Kelly said the phone had not stopped ringing with congratulations messages.
"I feel very honoured and humbled by the messages," she said.
"In Women in Business, we have delivered a lot with a very small team. We are a small charity - lots and lots of hard work and lots and lots of passion have gone into making it the success that it is.
"We have all worked really hard to get the members we have and support them in their development and their careers."
Here is the full list of Northern Ireland recipients of New Year Honours:
Order of the Bath
Noel Henry Lavery
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Alastair David Hamilton
Cheryl Lamont
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Andrew George Browne
Wilma Isobel Erskine-Heggarty BEM
Patrick Francis Gray
John Healy
Olive Paula Hill
Gary Lightbody
Timothy Losty
Maria Louise McHugh
Alan Smith
Anthony Baxter Stevens
Mercer Lindsay Todd
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Robert David Boyd
Emily Florence Brunt
Raymond Michael Burrows
Maureen Winifred Campbell
Paula Marie Dawson
David Delargy
Andrew Robert Freeburn
Tracy Helen Pringle Hamilton
Aaron William Hughes
Karen Jayne Hutchinson
Antonia (Toni) Johnson
Roseann Kelly
Angela Lynam
Francis Ronald Lyons
William Michael Mawhinney
Kay Louise Maddieson
Stephen Patrick McBrearty
Michael Gerard McKillop
Philip McLaughlin
Yvonne Mulholland
Eileen Rose Mullan
Ciara Angela Nicholl
Eugene Damien O'Hagan
Martin O'Hagan
Catherine Shipman
William John Snoddy
Jiemin Tomita
Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
William John Armstrong
Martha Rosalind Elizabeth Bloomfield
Leslie Alan Carswell
Gary Robert Chambers
Mary Adams Corkum
Margaret Roslyn Davidson
William Joseph Eames
James William Murray Fairbairn
Frederick Ivor Ferguson
Michael John Armand Gaillard
Thomas Harold Gardiner
John Alexander Gibson
Geoffrey Alan Hegarty
Oliver Garfield Laffin
Frances Lavery
Letty Lucas
Barry Macaulay
George Martin Mace
George Mann
Connor McCarroll
Bernard McComiskey
Bernard Thomas McCullagh
John Alexander McIlrath
Irwyn McKibbin
John Brian McMaster
Sonya McMullan
John Joseph Laurence McNally
Paul Michael
Robert John Montgomery
Alison Sally Glenn Mullan
Patrick Kevin Mullan
Simon Neill
Susannah Virginia O'Neill
Barry John Phillips
Heather Angela Platt
James Neville Pogue
Myrtle Winifred Pogue
Gerard Liam Power
Alison Reddick
Brian Reid
John (Jack) Alexander Reid
Alan Ross
Andrew Conrad Rowan
Alison Doreen Smith
Robert Jeffery Smith
Lynda Joan Storey
Norman Alexander Taylor TD
Thomas Kenneth Taylor
Robert Thompson
Michael Todd
James Kenneth Twyble
Denyse Kathleen Walker
Queen's Police Medal (QPM)
Julie Dawn Forsythe
David Lowans
David James McIlwaine
Queen's Fire Service Medal (QFSM)
David Harbinson
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