Official French recognition for significant contribution to the arts has been given to Michael Colgan, director of the Gate Theatre, at a special reception in Dublin with the award of the Insignes de Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (becoming a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters).
The French honour was established in 1957 to recognise eminent writers, artists and people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world. It was presented to Colgan by the French ambassador, Frédéric Grasset.
Past recipients of this honour have included Seán MacBride, John Boorman, Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy and John McGahern.
Playwright Brian Friel with his wife, Anne, and actor Ralph Fiennes were among those who came to salute their friend and champion yesterday.
Colgan was chairman of the Samuel Beckett Centenary Committee last year, with the Gate Theatre producing nine of Beckett's plays for the celebratory festival. In 2002 he worked with producer Alan Moloney to put all of Beckett's plays on film for television, which were then released on DVD.
He won The Irish TimesSpecial Tribute Award last year in recognition of the Gate Theatre's success in Dublin and abroad with productions of plays by Beckett, Friel and Harold Pinter.