Northern Ireland father who helped to tackle sectarianism in local football gets OBE from Her Royal Highness - and his brother!

Northern Ireland man Michael Boyd, who helped to tackle sectarianism in local football, has received a OBE from Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal – and his brother!

Consultant director of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation, the father-of-two from Belfast was honoured for services to football and reconciliation during a recent Investiture at Buckingham Palace.

However the event was not only a special day for Michael but also for his older brother John Boyd who has become the Private Secretary for Princess Anne and was involved in presenting the New Year Honours medals on the day.

Michael, who works at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and is chair of Belfast Healthy Cities said it was ‘a truly magical day’ for the entire family.

Michael said: “I received my OBE from The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace for services to Football and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

"It was an honour to briefly speak with Princess Anne about my work helping to set up the Irish FA Foundation and my current work supporting the development of the Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions.

"What made the day even more special was the fact my brother John recently started working as Private Secretary for Princess Anne so he was involved on the day handing my medal to the Princess.

"To have my mum, wife and daughters with me was the icing on the cake. It was a truly magical day at the palace and my brother treated us all to a lovely family lunch after at Fortnum and Mason in London. As I walked my daughters to school this morning they were still buzzing with excitement!”

Michael began his career at the Irish Football Association (IFA) as a community relations officer. As well as his job with the Human Rights Commission he works with the Belfast Healthy Cities initiative, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and with the charity Street Soccer.

He explained: "When I first joined they had big problems unfortunately at the (international) games; there were crowds of 4,000.

"A big part of my job was to try and create a better atmosphere at the internationals and to tackle the issues around sectarianism at the games.

"When I bump into people they always remember I did a lot of work around the Football for All campaign and working with the Northern Ireland supporters to create a better atmosphere at the international matches.

"I was very lucky because the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters' Clubs were really good to work with and we saw a big transformation.

"We went from crowds of 4,000 to basically sell-out crowds, it was a lot of work but we got there. It is a much better, more family-friendly experience these days. There was a big transformation in the atmosphere.

"I still do a lot of work around sports and human rights, it is good fun and I get the opportunity to chair a sports and human rights forum which has countries from all around the Commonwealth in it.

"I still have no idea who put me forward, but I’m glad they did. It is such an honour. An OBE is something I never thought of or imagined.

"My brother John has an OBE so it is pretty cool for two wee lads from east Belfast both to have OBEs.”