Honours for football executives who helped save Celtic and Hearts

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Here is a summary of the information from the text you provided about the New Year Honours recipients related to Scottish personalities:

– **Fergus McCann** (CBE, Commander of the Order of the British Empire)
– Former Celtic chief executive.
– Took control of Celtic in 1994 when the club was near bankruptcy.
– Paid off the debts of the club and oversaw the rebuilding of Celtic Park.
– Stabilised the club’s finances.

– **Ann Budge** (OBE, Officer of the Order of the British Empire)
– Former chair of Hearts (Heart of Midlothian).
– Rescued Hearts after the club went into administration in 2013, following debts left by Vladimir Romanov.
– Invested £2.5 million of her own money.
– Helped make Hearts the largest fan-owned club in the UK.
– Delivered a new main stand and introduced a living wage for staff.
– Stood down as chair in early 2024 with Hearts top of the Scottish Premiership.

– **Jim Craig** (OBE)
– Member of the legendary 1967 Celtic team, the first British side to win the European Cup.
– Won many titles with Celtic including seven league titles, four Scottish Cups, and three League Cups.
– Later became a dentist.

– **Eve Graham** (OBE)
– Singer with The New Seekers, famous for “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing.”
– The band represented Britain in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest.
– Performed at US President Richard Nixon’s inauguration ball in 1973.

– **Prof Lorna Dawson** (Damehood)
– Head of the Centre for Forensic Soil Science at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen.
– Has advised on more than 150 cases and written over 100 expert witness reports internationally.
– Played a key role as a forensic expert in major Scottish murder cases, including:
– Angus Sinclair (World’s End murders)
– William MacDowell (1976 murders of Renee MacRae and her son)
– Iain Packer (2005 murder of Emma Caldwell)
– Recognised for contributions in forensic science supporting justice nationally and globally.

Additional honours were awarded to individuals such as the chief executive of the Royal Edinburgh Botanic Garden, the chief constable of Police Scotland, a heritage kiltmaker, and the founders of an island college.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander praised the honours list as one “packed with local heroes.”

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If you would like, I can provide more detailed information about any of the individuals mentioned or the honours system itself

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More

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