The Tipp O’Neill Irish Diaspora Awards ceremony takes place in Buncrana tonight, with four presentations being made, one of them a joint award being made to a husband and wife.
The awards celebrate the contribution of the diaspora to Donegal, and also the achievements of people from the county across the globe.
Four awards will be given out at tonight’s ceremony in Buncrana, the first of them to a husband and wife who run a global Home Health Care business, BAYADA was founded by Mark and Ann Baiada, both of whom are members of the Donegal Association of Philadelphia.
South Donegal born Moya Doherty is the chair of the Board of RTE, and the commissioning producer and originator of Riverdance. She is a writer and broadcaster, and a founding director of Tyrone Productions.
Ardara native Kathleen Sheerin is based in Dublin, and was the first woman chairperson of the Donegal Associaton in Dublin. She is also a Life Member and former president of the association, and was instrumental in establishing the Donegal Person of the Year Award.
The final recipient, Dr Susan Whoriskey, is a pioneer in the area of vaccines, and serves as an advisor to the Clinical Translations Research and Innovation Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital, with an emphasis on scholarships for medical students in the North West.
