President presents the Distinguished Service Awards for the Irish Abroad

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins speaking at Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows at Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows at Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins presenting at Áras an Uachtaráin. UCD graduate, Professor FitzGerald is a globally recognised research physician scientist at the University of Pennsylvania. His research has contributed substantially to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease by low dose aspirin and has benefitted millions worldwide.  He has also won several major international awards for his work on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and is widely published in leading medical journals.  
He is closely engaged in facilitating scientific endeavour in Ireland, establishing a successful Center for Cardiovascular Science at UCD and was a founding advisor of Science Foundation Ireland. He has contributed significantly to the training and mentoring of many Irish researchers, several of whom hold senior positions within Irish academia and industry today.  Amongst the more than 100 postdoctoral and doctoral students who have trained in his lab, more than 20 are Irish and remain active in research. In 2014, Science Foundation Ireland awarded Professor FitzGerald with the inaugural SFI St. Patrick’s Day Science Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to his field of expertise and to his ongoing support of the research community in Ireland. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins presenting at Áras an Uachtaráin. Sr. Mary Sweeney has worked tirelessly for over forty years, often with limited support, in the extremely challenging environment that is Sierra Leone. Through her efforts in establishing the St Joseph’s School for the Hearing Impaired in Makeni, she has given education, skills training and life opportunities to the most vulnerable of people; children with a disability in a developing country. Notably, she remained in Makeni to keep the school open during the brutal civil war in the 1990s, and more recently she has played a significant role in coordinating much-needed support for the Ebola response in Makeni. Sr. Sweeney has in recent years widened her ambitions and focussed her energies on promoting the development of a curriculum for the training of teachers for special needs education in Sierra Leone.  PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins presenting at Áras an Uachtaráin. Robert Kearns is a key figure within the Irish community in Toronto and has been instrumental in creating the Ireland Park Famine Memorial Park along the quayside in Canada’s largest city.  He is now engaged in creation of a new memorial in Toronto, Grasset Park, to commemorate the Canadian medical staff who died administering to the Famine Irish. Mr. Kearns is a successful business man and member of the Global Irish Network.  He has assisted a number of Irish firms enter the Canadian market, including providing free office space for one such company.  He chaired the Ireland Fund of Canada for six years and helped raise funds for integrated education in Ireland. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins presenting at Áras an Uachtaráin. Gerald Lawless has had a distinguished career in the hospitality sector in the United Arab Emirates, serving as CEO of the Jumeirah Group for 18 years and is a member of the Global Irish Network.  This year he was appointed Chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council.  Throughout this time he has played a leading role in the emergence of a strong, vibrant Irish community in Dubai.  As a prominent member of the wider Dubai business community Gerald has used his position to advance Irish interests e.g. making it possible to “green” the Burj Al Arab Hotel. He is currently Vice-President of the Dubai Irish Business Network.  PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins with at Áras an Uachtaráin. Sir Terry Wogan was a universally-known Irish broadcaster who spent most of his career with the BBC. He passed away in January 2016.   Throughout his career, he was a respected and loved representative of the Irish in Britain.  The reaction to his death highlighted the significance of his contribution to the community, particularly in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Sir Terry’s rise to the highest ranks of broadcasting in Britain was recognised when he received a knighthood in 2005. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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08/12/2016 NO REPRO FEE, MAXWELLS DUBLIN Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. Pic shows President Michael D. Higgins presenting at Áras an Uachtaráin. Angela Brady is a Dublin-born architect, TV broadcaster and former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects.  She is currently Director of London based Brady Mallalieu Architects.  She was made a British Council Ambassador to Vietnam for Innovation and Design and has also worked with the British Council in the Near East. Angela promotes architecture on TV, radio and in publications. She is very active in the Irish community, particularly among the business networks, promoting Irish business and design talent.  Ms Brady also made a significant contribution to the success in Britain of the Year of Irish Design 2015. PIC: NO FEE, MAXWELLPHOTOGRAPHY.IE

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