Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle

Dame Fionnuala Mary Jay-O'Boyle, DBE DStJ (born 22 March 1960) is a British lobbyist, charity trustee, and public official. She is the Lord-Lieutenant for the County Borough of Belfast since 2014,[1] and a member of the House of Lords Appointments Commission since 2019.[2]

Jay-O'Boyle, who was born in Derry in 1960 and is married to Richard Jay, trained as a singer and has worked in marketing and communications.[3][4] She was a trustee of The Prince's Regeneration Trust from 2003 and of The Prince's Foundation for Building Community from 2016 until they were both merged into The Prince's Foundation in 2018.[4][5] She founded the Belfast Buildings Trust in 1996, of which she remains patron.[6] She was a deputy lieutenant for Belfast from 2009 until her elevation in 2014.[7]

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2000, Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours[8] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to the community in Northern Ireland.[9][10]

Jay-O'Boyle was also appointed a Dame of the Order of Saint John (DstJ) on 22 April 2021.[11]

On 12 December 2022, Jay-O'Boyle was presented an Honorary Doctorate of Laws for Distinction in Public Service at Queen's University Belfast.[12]

  1. ^ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Prime Minister appoints new Independent Members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission". GOV.UK. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ "New Lord Lieutenant of Belfast Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle is a force to be reckoned with". Belfast Telegraph. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Lord Lieutenant — Mrs Fionnuala Jay O'Boyle CBE". Borough of Belfast Lieutenancy. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Jay-O'boyle, Fionnuala Mary". Who's Who. A & C Black. 1 December 2018. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u276730. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. ^ "A rescuer of last restore". The Irish Times. 2 September 1999. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. ^ "New Lord Lieutenant for Belfast". BBC News. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ^ "No. 6988". The Belfast Gazette. 14 June 2008. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Dame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire (DBE): Fionnuala Mary Jay-O'boyle CBE". The Queen's Birthday Honours 2022: High Awards. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  10. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B9.
  11. ^ "Other Notices | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Belfast Lieutenancy Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 27 January 2023.