The Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad is presented by the President every year, in recognition of the service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad by those who live outside Ireland.
The ceremony to honour this year's recipients took place in Áras an Uachtaráin on 8 December 2016.
The Awardees are:
Arts, Culture and Sport
- Angela Brady (UK)
- Terry Wogan (Deceased - UK) - presented posthumously
Business and Education
- Robert G. Kearns (Canada)
- Gerald Lawless (UAE)
Charitable Works
- Norman P. McClelland (US)
Irish Community Support
- Nora Higgins (UK)
- Brendan Fay (US)
- Kathleen Walsh D'Arcy (US)
Peace, Reconciliation and Development
- Martin von Hildebrand Mulcahy (Colombia)
- Sr Mary D. Sweeney (Sierra Leone)
Science, Technology and Innovation
- Garret A. FitzGerald (US)
