Dame Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle talks about her role as Lord Lieutenant of Belfast

As Lord Lieutenant ( with her impeccable diction she says ‘Leftenant’, the proper English pronunciation) for the County Borough of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala is accustomed to meeting and greeting royals, but never takes the illustrious role she has held for eight years for granted.

"It was an enormous privilege (to greet King Charles III), but I was also very conscious that he was a man grieving for his mother.

"I have no doubt he will be a wonderful King – he has had a long apprenticeship, but with the finest teacher. He is a deeply thoughtful man, he is an incredibly intelligent and committed man, and as for the Queen Consort, she is quite amazing and I think together they are going to do very great things. So I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

With the eyes of the world watching the historic day, did she feel at all nervous?

“There are always nerves with a Royal visit, I think there needs to be.

"I think they are good nerves, they are nerves that focus on keeping you right and wanting things to go well and I thought it was a great honour to welcome the new King to Northern Ireland, somewhere that I know he is passionate about.

"I have no doubt that his visits here, and the people here, matter to him deeply.”

Of course, behind the joy of welcoming the new King, was sadness at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

“I was obviously appointed by Her Majesty back in 2014 and whilst we all knew that this day was coming, I think it was still a shock to all of us.

"She was such a constant in our lives. She was someone that we looked to for so many things, not least for leadership in difficult times, and it really was personally and deeply important for me that Northern Ireland and Belfast would do Her Majesty proud, because she has done us proud over so many years. And I think we did do Her Majesty proud. I think the service at St Anne’s was very affecting and it seems to have meant a great deal to a great many people. So, I think we can say, with a huge sigh of relief, job well done.”

Dame Fionnuala met the late Queen “many, many times”.

“She was an extraordinary woman. The first thing that struck you was her beautiful smile and her magnificent skin. She was warm with people and she had a very particular interest in Northern Ireland and in the island of Ireland and I think that we saw that in every single one of her visits here.”

Sadly, Dame Fionnuala was recovering from surgery and couldn’t make the funeral, but like millions of others, watched the ceremony on television and was “deeply moved”.

“Yes, the pageantry and the pomp of the state funeral was amazing, but there was a genuine sense of loss. Whether you are a monarchist or whether you are not, the leadership, the constancy, the duty, given by this incredible woman, resonated with so many people so powerfully.”

Dame Fionnuala is an incredibly warm, eloquent woman, with a great sense of humour, an infectious laugh and charming candour.

Born in 1960 and growing up a Catholic in Londonderry, she admits that never ‘in a million years’ did she imagine she would be holding such as prestigious title (Lord Lieutenants are appointed based on their outstanding merit, and those who have committed themselves to service to the nation and to their communities).

"No,” she laughs, “not even remotely, but then, I suppose I have had a lot of unexpected things happen to me in my life.”

Coming from a musical family, her initial intention was to be an opera singer, then at the age of 21 she contracted a severe bout of glandular fever which cruelly ended her dreams and left her with chronic fatigue syndrome, which she has got better at managing.

“One of things I try to do is make time for a massage or reflexology, sometimes only for an hour a week, but I think it is important. As women I think we need to remember to take that time for ourselves. That said, I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a high-wire act – I don’t sleep very well, but sometimes I say that that is when I do my best thinking.”

She was “pretty devastated” when her singing career ended, but maintains her passionate interest in opera and the arts, and currently serves as vice-chair of Northern Ireland Opera.

“It (singing) couldn’t happen so I went a different road. I was involved in student politics, then I went into public affairs, but I suppose through all of that you gain life experience, even emotional experience which maybe at the time doesn’t seem relevant.”

In terms of her Catholic religion, she said at the time of her appointment as Lord Lieutenant some people ‘tried to make an issue of it’, but it was never an issue for her.

“My reason for doing this is because I believe in the Royal family, I believe in public service, I believe in the good that public service can do and what the monarchy has done.

“Yes, we’ve had bumps in the road, but in the main I have found people incredibly welcoming.

"And I have always had a fantastic relationship with our Lord Mayors, regardless of what party they have come from.

"Our current Lord Mayor, Tina Black, has been incredibly gracious and kind to me, particularly over the death of Her Majesty.”

There are 96 Lord Lieutenants across the UK, with eight in Northern Ireland.

Dame Fionnuala took over the honorary, unpaid role from Dame Mary Peters eight years ago.

"It’s not a job that you apply for,” she laughs, “It’s a rather heart stopping hand-on-the shoulder moment.”

She has 24 deputies, which she selects, people who have a “significant contribution to public life”.

"I have some medics, some legal people, some education people and community people. We are a very strong team in Belfast.”

Dame Fionnuala will retain her role until her 75th birthday as Lord Lieutenants are appointed on the same tenure as High Court judges.

"We are charged with being the monarch’s eyes and ears in our respective areas.

“We would be very involved with the organisation of visits and escorting the royals when they come to Northern Ireland, but we are also charged in working with charities, with business, in maintaining the monarchy’s link with the reserve forces and cadet association and we also conduct things like citizenship ceremonies for our new citizens coming to Northern Ireland and welcoming them on behalf of the King and also the Home Secretary.

"A really lovely part of what we do is we get to present medals and awards.”

Dame Fionnuala has been married to Richard, “a retired Queen’s academic and almost a saint” for 33 years.

"I consider myself very fortunate. I couldn’t do this without my ‘plus one’.

"He really is an incredible support to me. We don’t have children so in some respects I am quite fortunate in that, even in career terms, I have been able to work abroad or whatever.

"Shortly before I was appointed (Lord Lieutenant) Richard had just retired and we were going to spend six months of the year in France (they have a house near the city of Beziers) and six months here –but that didn’t happen,” she laughs.

It is said that if you want something done ask a busy person; as Dame Fionnuala rhymes off her list of recent commitments, it’s clear ‘busy’ is an understatement for this devoted and hard-working lady.

"Life can be extremely busy. Life is never dull,” she says as we say our goodbyes and she gets ready to attend another evening function.