IRISH fashion and lifestyle designer Orla Kiely is to be honoured with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award.
Based in London, the Dublin native - best-known for her retro prints and her iconic stem leaf design - is among the 2024 recipients of President Higgins' annual award.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin announced the 10 recipients who will receive the award this week.
They will be presented at a ceremony held in Áras an Uachtaráin in January 2025.
Three of the awardees are based in Britain, three are based in the US and the remainder are based in Nigeria, Italy, Sierra Leone and Australia.
Orla Kiely is to be honoured with a Presidential Distinguished Service Award (Pic: David Creedon)The British recipients include Kiely, who has grown her fashion brand from the capital since the 1990s, as well as Everton footballer Seamus Coleman, who hails from Donegal, and Rosalind Scanlon, a playwright and theatre director who is the Cultural Director at the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith.
Responding to the announcement, Kiely said it was “a privilege to represent Ireland on the international stage and to contribute to our global community”.
She added: “Congratulations to my fellow awardees, including Seamus Coleman and Rosalind Scanlon, who continue to inspire and uplift people around the world and at home.”
Mr Martin said the 2024 recipients “highlight the diversity of areas where the global Irish are making a difference - arts, culture, sport, charitable and community works, business, peace, inclusion and equality”.
He added: “Irish people overseas continue to make vital contributions to their communities and on the international stage.
“I am always very honoured when I get to see first-hand the impact they make locally and globally.
“The Presidential Distinguished Service Award acknowledges the connection between the work of the recipients and our values as a nation, strengthening the ties between Ireland and the Diaspora.”
The full list of 2024 Presidential Distinguished Service Award recipients:
Seamus Coleman, Britain - Arts, Culture & Sport
Aduke Gomez, Nigeria - Arts, Culture & Sport
Roaslind Scanlon, Britain - Arts, Culture & Sport
Prof. Enrico Terrinoni, Italy - Arts, Culture & Sport
Orla Kiely, Britain - Business and Economic Development
Sr Teresa McKeon, Sierra Leone - Charitable Works & Advocacy
Mary O'Neil, USA - Inclusion & Equality
Pam O'Mahoney, Australia - Irish Community Supoprt
Patrick Leahy, USA - Peace, Reconciliation and Development
Stella O'Leary, USA - Peace, Reconciliation and Development
See More: Orla Kiely, Seamus Coleman
