Barry Phillips Meets The Lord Lieutenant Fionnuala Jay - O’Boyle MBE CBE

The Lord Lieutenant Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle MBE CBE was born and brought up in Derry/Londonderry in the 60s and 70s. Destined for a career as an opera singer in the conservatoire he career aspirations were cut short by a debilitating illness. Active for a while in student politics at Queen’s University what followed was a hugely successful career in Public and Government Affairs, setting up her own consultancy firm and heading up major initiatives including “Taste of Ulster”– the award winning worldwide campaign to promote food and hospitality from Northern Ireland. In 1996 she founded the Belfast Buildings Trust helping to save and restore some key historic building in Belfast. In 2,000 she was awarded an MBE and a CBE in 2,008. In 2014 she was appointed Lord Lieutenant representing Her Majesty the Queen in the County of Belfast following on from Dame Mary Peters. In this wide ranging interview Fionnuala talks about the futility of one-sidedness and questions whether there is such a thing as certainty. Time flies when you’re with this lady. Her warmth, her genuine interest in people and her search for understanding key issues in life make her compelling company.