The Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin TD, has welcomed the awarding by President Michael D. Higgins of the Presidential Distinguished Service Awards for 2023 to thirteen members of Ireland’s diaspora.
The awards were presented at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin on Tuesday, 16 January 2024.
This year, the recipients were acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to Ireland and to the Irish abroad in a variety of fields. These include human rights protection and advocacy, development, Irish community care, disarmament, education, Irish Studies, the arts, and business.
Speaking after the ceremony, Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD, said:
“I was delighted to meet the thirteen recipients of the 2023 Presidential Distinguished Service Awards. Each has in their own way has made a notable contribution in their particular areas of endeavour.
“In doing so, they are representative of the many millions of Irish people who have over the years had such a positive impact in so many different parts of the world, and continue to do so.
“It serves as a reminder to all of us of the capacity of diaspora and immigrant communities to make a hugely positive contribution to their adopted communities.”
Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming, TD, said:
“The Presidential Distinguished Service Awards is an annual opportunity for us to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of Ireland’s diaspora.
“Irish communities all over the world enhance Ireland’s global reputation by their actions and by their commitment to tolerance, inclusion and to justice and equality for all. These are values which we continue to hold very dear here in Ireland.”
The PDSA 2023 recipients are:
| 2023 PDSA Recipients | Category | Location |
| Mr. Aidan Connolly and Ms. Pauline Turley | Arts, Culture, and Sport | USA |
| Dr. Beatriz Kopschitz Xavier Bastos | Arts, Culture, and Sport | Brazil |
| Mr. Philip Treacy | Arts, Culture, and Sport | Britain |
| Dr. h.c. Fritz Senn | Arts, Culture, and Sport | Switzerland |
| Dr. Howard Keeley | Business and Economic Development | USA |
| Ms. Caoilfhionn Gallagher K.C. | Charitable Works and Advocacy | Britain |
| Dr. Stanley Quek | Charitable Works and Advocacy | Singapore |
| Dr. Patricia Mary Lewis | Education, Science, and Innovation | Britain |
| Ms. Maria Doyle | Inclusion and Equality | France |
| Ms. Sinéad El Sibai | Irish Community Support | UAE |
| Mr. Seamus Sullivan | Irish Community Support | Australia |
| Fr. Gabriel Dolan | Peace, Reconciliation, and Development | Kenya |
