The Priests receive MBEs from Prince Charles

Father Eugene O’Hagan, his brother Father Martin O’Hagan, and Father David Delargy accepted the honours from the Prince of Wales during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Known collectively as The Priests, the trio gained global fame in 2008 when their classical religious melodies became known internationally.

Fr Eugene O’Hagan is vicar general of the Diocese of Down and Connor, Fr Martin O’Hagan is parish priest of Newtownards and Comber, while Fr Delargy is parish priest of Whitehouse, Greencastle and St James.

They were recognised for their services to music and charity in Northern Ireland.

Last year when the New Year’s Honours List was announced there was some online criticism from those who felt Catholic priests should not be accepting honours from the British Empire.

The Priests issued a statement to say they were “privileged to be named among those whom HM The Queen has honoured in the New Year’s Honours list”.

Other local personalities receiving honours today included Doctor Who and Outlander actress Maureen Beattie from Bundoran, Co Donegal, who was made an OBE for services to the entertainment industry.

MBE recipient, celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, described being recognised at Buckingham Palace as “very special”.

Having made a career of trying to make cooking more accessible to people, he said food remains his passion.

“I think it’s kind of bringing food to people who perhaps a little bit shied away from it, (were) a little bit embarrassed about it,” he said.

“I think what I’ve tried to do over the years is to kind of open the door to say ‘It’s a meal, it’s OK, don’t panic, don’t get worked up about it’.”

The chef was intending to celebrate his Royal honour by enjoying some “classic British fare” with his children at the Wolseley in London.

The investiture ceremony included precautions against the coronavirus.

A hand sanitiser dispenser sat on a table in the east gallery corridor where recipients line up before entering the ballroom to be honoured. The Queen wore large white gloves at an investiture on Tuesday for what was believed to be the first time.

England’s former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies – being made a Dame Grand Cross for her services to public health and research – said she would be surprised if the UK got away without having “a lot of cases” of Covid-19, but praised health officials for “doing a great job” on handling the outbreak.