A campaigner for victims of historical abuse has told of her shock that she has been awarded an MBE for her work.
Margaret McGuckin said she was left speechless when she heard she was to be given the title in the King's Birthday Honours.
A victim of abuse herself, she has campaigned for decades and is the leader of Savia (Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse), a group that campaigns for those who suffered physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse in institutions across Northern Ireland.
Savia was formed after the publication of the Ryan Report, which uncovered a litany of instances of child abuse in the Republic, and the group aimed to achieve the same in the north.
As a leading voice in the campaign, Ms McGuckin was present as victims of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland received a formal apology in March 2022 from five ministers, representing each of the main Stormont parties.
She said she was "in shock" when she heard the news of her MBE, adding it was a recognition of what she and other survivors endured.
"I wasn't intending or wanting to be honoured in any way... and to see that I was, I was speechless, and I'm not often speechless," she told Press Association.
"To suffer humiliation and degradation in life and abuse, you know you can only take that so far - you can either die or survive and fight," she said.
"And I've done that and I suppose that is in recognition for that, now."
She also dedicated her place on the King's honours list to her late brother Kevin, who died earlier this month.
"It is a recognition, it is lovely to have and receive although I would go, 'ach, it doesn't matter', but it is the more I think of it now when I'm coming down to earth," she said.
"And I can always say - it's for Kevin.
"This is for Kevin, my beautiful brother, you know, so I'll give it away to him, as it were, in dedication to him and what he suffered and so many others.
"We were fighting for everybody that keeps me happy, it's not just for me, it's for others, you know, I'm grateful, so grateful."
