Presidential Distinguished Service Award

Please note - this site has moved. Up-to-date information can be found on ireland.ie/pdsa

Photo by Maxwell photography.‌

The origins of the Award

About the Award

The Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad is presented by the President every year. It recognises the service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad by those who live outside Ireland.

The Award is not an honours system. It doesn’t give the recipients any legal entitlements or benefits, including Irish citizenship.

About the nominees

Whether they’re Irish citizens, entitled to Irish citizenship or from an Irish background, the hard work, energy and dedication of nominees make a valuable contribution to people’s lives and are deserving of our thanks and respect.

Who can be nominated?

Only people who live outside the island of Ireland can be nominated for the Award. They must have:

Given distinguished service to Ireland and/or its reputation abroad
Contributed to Ireland and/or its international reputation and/or Irish communities abroad in at least one of the categories listed below
Supported and engaged with Ireland and/or its international reputation and/or Irish communities abroad for at least five years, or have made a sustained and distinguished service on a global or international issue of importance

While the scheme is open to all people living abroad, it is primarily aimed at Irish citizens, those entitled to Irish citizenship and persons of Irish descent, who have made a sustained and distinguished service to Ireland or Irish communities abroad, or on a global or international issue of importance.

Who decides on the nominations?

Nominations for the Award are made through our Embassy network, and are considered by a High Level Panel. The Panel recommends up to a total of 10 people every year from these nominations. The categories under which individuals can be nominated are:

Arts, Culture and Sport;
Business and Education;
Charitable Works;
Irish Community Support;
Peace, Reconciliation and Development;
Science, Technology and Innovation (additional category introduced in 2016).

The Panel then submits its recommendations to the Government for approval.

The Award

The concept

The Award is based on the concept of an open door, which leads to the landscape of Ireland. This captures the welcoming nature of both the Irish people and Ireland as a nation.

Making the Award

The award is made from Irish hardwoods and other locally-sourced materials, using a combination of modern and traditional technologies at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology Letterfrack.

The designers

The award was designed by Spear Product Design, an award-winning, multidisciplinary design studio based in Dublin.

Recipients

2022 Awards

The Awardees for 2022 are:

PDSA Recipient 2022	Category	Location
Morgan Bullock	Arts, Culture and Sport	US
Katie-George Dunlevy	Arts, Culture and Sport	Britain
Joseph M. Hassett	Arts, Culture and Sport	US
Fergus Linehan	Arts, Culture and Sport	Britain
Prof. Wang Zhanpeng & Prof. Chen Li	Business and Education	China
Ciarán Staunton & Orlaith Staunton	Charitable Works	US
Josephine O’Driscoll	Irish Community Support	Britain
Mary Ellen McGroarty	Peace, Reconciliation & Development	Afghanistan
Fr. Richard (Dick) O’Riordan	Peace, Reconciliation & Development	South Africa
Teresa Lambe	Science, Technology & Innovation	Britain