'I thought my MBE letter was a speeding ticket'

Dave Finlay says he thought he was in for bad news when he first received the letter awarding him with an MBE on the King's New Year Honours list.

The 87-year old formed his own wrestling club in 1968 and has been recognised for his contribution to Olympic wrestling in Northern Ireland.

Finlay is one of 10 sporting recipients from NI in the Honours list.

"I looked at the letter and said to my daughter Wendy, 'it looks like I've got a notice for speeding'," said Finlay.

"It looked quite official and I thought the only thing it could be was a speeding notice.

"I thought it was a wind-up until a few days ago, but I'm just getting my head around it now and I'm in complete shock."

Finlay coached at the club he founded in Greenisland until he retired earlier this year and he explained how there is a long tradition of wrestling in his family under his guidance.

"Wrestling was so enjoyable, then my children got into it and it was a great hobby for everyone," he added.

"I founded my own club and it exploded. We started to win British Championship medals, we had Commonwealth Games competitors and we had great success.

"I was invited all over the world to coach because I just seemed to have that knack for coaching wrestling."

He added: "My son David is in America now and he's a big coach with the WWE. My two grandsons wrestle in Japan and America. My granddaughter was champion at high school in America, so I must have been doing something right."

Frank Donnelly, the chairperson of Down Special Olympics for 17 years, says he is "shocked and delighted" to honoured with a MBE for his contribution to disability sports.

"This award isn't just for me, it's for all the people who have worked with me over the years, both the volunteers and the athletes," Donnelly said.

"We have done very well with Down Special Olympics over the years. We had two athletes picked for Ireland at the Special Olympics World Games, Peter Fitzpatrick in football and Jacqueline Stewart in golf this year in Germany.

"I joined the Special Olympics as an ordinary volunteer in the early 1990s. When I started with Down Special Olympics I never thought this would happen in a million years.

"When I got the letter it really hit me for six. It's great to work with the athletes. You encourage them and you coach them, and you are delighted for them when they do well. It helps me and I get a real buzz out of it."

Robert McVeigh, a member of the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council since 1992 and former chair of the association, and Alison Moffitt-Robinson, the first female Chef de Mission for Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, have also both been made MBEs.

"I felt honoured when I got the letter. I've been very lucky to be surrounded by committed people and good people who have been a great support. I hope I have helped them and helped the sports men and women to achieve better things and improve themselves," said McVeigh.

"It's a great reward for me, but it will mean more to my family. They have been a great support and sacrificed a lot when I have been involved in activities with the Commonwealth Games.

"I've been involved in the organisation at a good time with the Commonwealth growing and we've had some good results, with more investment in sport and that has made a massive difference.

"Northern Ireland winning any medal has given me pride. It's hard to pick one moment, you have a different one when your thoughts are in different places. There are too many good moments from my time. I've had memories to last a lifetime."

Moffitt-Robinson is the sports development officer at Ulster University and was recognised for services to Sports Management and Development in Northern Ireland.

"It was a glossy envelope in the post and for one second you don't image what it is going to be. I am delighted to receive it, it was like a bolt from the blue," she said.

"You never really imagine you are going to be recognised in that way, but it is a fantastic thing to happen.

"We do the roles that we do for the love of it and to have the opportunities that I have had is something I am really grateful for.

"This is really the icing on the cake to get an honour for doing something you love. When you consider yourself alongside the other previous recipients you hold them in really high esteem and to be considered alongside those is a really great honour."

Former Northern Irish referee Leslie Irvine has also been appointed MBE for his services to football.

Irvine was an Fifa international referee until he retired in 2003 and is currently an international referee assessor.

Former Irish FA director of football Michael Boyd, who served in various roles during his 22-year spell with the governing body, becomes an OBE for his contribution to football, sport, charity and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

"I'm absolutely delighted, it's a great honour," said Boyd.

"I am passionate about sport and charity development. To have my work in these areas recognised with an OBE is fantastic."

Deon McNeilly, chair of the Newcastle Athletics Club and David Wheeler, chair of Lisnaskea Rovers Football Club, have both been awarded BEMs for their services to athletics and football respectively.

Also receiving BEMs are Santos coach Patrick McGeehan for voluntary services to football and Ballymena Saturday Morning League chairman William King for his contributions to football in Northern Ireland.