'An Irish Goodbye' actor James Martin 'bonds with Prince of Wales over football' as he receives his MBE

Martin, who starred in the award-winning short film ‘An Irish Goodbye’, has Down’s syndrome and said the honour meant a lot to him and to other people with disabilities.

The actor, who was made an MBE for services to drama in Northern Ireland in the New Year Honours list, said he and William, who is president of the English Football Association, “have something in common: we both like football” when they met on Wednesday.

He said they also “talked about things in the movie” which won several awards in 2023 including the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and the Bafta for Best Short Film.

“We talked about the Baftas,” he added.

Martin said his honour “means a lot not just for people with Down’s Syndrome, but a lot of people in that particular area”.

“It doesn’t really matter what disabilities, people come up to me,” he said.

“Whether it’s hidden disabilities like autism or physical disabilities like hearing or blind, they will still come up to me and say ‘aren’t you the one with the Oscar and the Bafta?”

He added: “It’s really lovely to have.”

Martin works with Mencap, a charity which supports those with learning disabilities and Down’s syndrome.

“I do a lot of work with Mencap which gives advice to families on disabilities and it’s really nice that Mencap is a two-way organisation.”

He said the difference between the MBE and Oscar was that the MBE was his own to keep.

“It’s mine for life,” he said, adding: “And I know that I will keep it really safe.”