The Manx Patriots' Roll of Honour

The Manx Patriots’ Roll of Honour is currently on display in the foyer of Legislative Buildings and in the Royal Chapel at St John's.  It gives formal recognition to deceased persons who have made an outstanding contribution to Manx life.

To be recommended for inclusion in the Roll of Honour, a person must be shown to have disinterestedly or self-sacrificially exerted himself or herself to promote the well-being of the Isle of Man; it is not restricted to persons born in the Island or of Manx parentage. No living person may be considered for inclusion in the Manx Patriots' Roll of Honour.

One of the tasks of the Tynwald Management Committee is to suggest names of deceased persons for inclusion in the Manx Patriots' Roll of Honour. The Committee's other task is to recommend to Tynwald the award of honours by the Court to living persons.

Roll of Honour

History of the Roll of Honour

On 16th April 1997, a Select Committee was appointed by Tynwald ‘to consider whether and, if so, in what ways it would be appropriate for the Island to further commemorate Manx patriots’.

The Select Committee on Manx Patriots reported to Tynwald in November 1998, making various recommendations for the commemoration of Manx patriots. It concluded that ‘the most appropriate and dignified method of commemoration is the institution of a Manx Patriots’ Roll of Honour’.

The Select Committee defined the use of the terms ‘patriot’ and, more specifically, ‘Manx patriot’. Taking inspiration from the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition for the term, it was decided that ‘patriot’ should be understood as ‘one who disinterestedly or self-sacrificially exerts himself or herself to promote the well-being of his or her country’. ‘Manx patriot’ was defined as a person who has chosen the Isle of Man as the country to which he or she gives allegiance, so as not to exclude those born elsewhere.

The Select Committee suggested the criteria for inclusion of a person in the Roll of Honour. These were that the ‘person must be shown to have disinterestedly or self-sacrificially exerted himself or herself to promote the well-being of the Isle of Man’; ‘no living person be considered for inclusion’, and ‘inclusion on the Manx Patriots’ Roll of Honour be not restricted to persons born in the Island or of Manx parentage’. 

The Tynwald Honours Committee was established by resolution of Tynwald in December 1998. In 2002, its remit was extended to empower the Committee to recommend the award of honours to living Manx persons.  This became the Tynwald Honour.

In May 2018, the functions of the Tynwald Honours Committee were transferred to the Tynwald Management Committee.