Former Cairncastle minister gets MBE

Richard Hill is to receive the MBE for services to the broadcast media in Northern Ireland.

Mr Hill became a self-employed media consultant following a 14-year career as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

He was lately chairman of Northern Ireland Screen.

Also included in the Honours List is Whitehead woman Kathleen Ferguson, founder and honorary secretary of Brainwaves Northern Ireland, for services to people with brain tumours and their families.

The MBE recipient said the honour was recognition of all the people involved with the charity.

Meanwhile, Dr Ernest Logan, managing director of Ballyclare-based Giltspur Scientific Ltd, receives the OBE for services to agriculture.

Dr Logan, inventor of the renowned plastic orthopaedic shoe for dairy cows known throughout the world as Cowslips, established Giltspur Scientific in 1991.

Exported to 17 countries worldwide, the shoes have improved the welfare of millions of dairy cows by reducing the pain inflicted by lameness. The Cowslip has won several prestigious awards such as The Prince Philip Award for Merit and The New Zealand National Fieldays Award of Merit.

Veteran Carrick politician, Alderman Jim Brown - who has been a member of Carrick Borough Council since 1981 - is to receive an MBE for services to local government.