Senator George Mitchell, sex abuse victim Ms Sophia McColgan, Irish youth soccer manager Mr Brian Kerr and an Indian-born surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital are among this year's winners of ESB/Rehab People of the Year awards.
The awards were presented at a ceremony in Dublin yesterday evening by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who said the winners were remarkable people in what had been "a remarkable year for Ireland. The country has never had so much going for it as it has this year.
"The new national question for Ireland is can we unite our people in lasting peace. The answer is simple: we can and we will," he said.
Senator Mitchell became the first-ever award-winner from outside Ireland for his contribution to the Northern peace process. He won the new category of International Person of the Year.
Irish Person of the Year is 28year-old Ms Sophia McColgan, whose family suffered for years at the hands of an abusive and violent father and then had to fight a long and gruelling legal battle with the North Western Health Board.
Queva Griffin, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Clonshaugh in Dublin, was named Irish Young Person of the Year in recognition of her extraordinary courage in the face of a life-saving heart and lung transplant operation. After being told she needed the transplant, and despite her deteriorating condition, Queva was at the forefront of the fund-raising campaign to help pay for the operation, including publishing a book of poetry which sold thousands of copies.
Another award went to Mr Dominic Pinto, surgeon at Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh, who received it on behalf of all the men and women whose bravery, skill and compassion won international admiration in the aftermath of the Omagh bomb massacre. Mr Pinto, born in Goa and brought up in Kenya, joined the hospital 18 years ago.
Mr Brian Kerr won his award for leading both the under-16 and under-18 Irish teams to European championships this year, the first time any country had won such a double. Last year the Irish under18 team came third in the world championship.
Ms Anna May McHugh won hers in recognition of her success in transforming the National Ploughing Championship into a major international event. When she joined the National Ploughing Association as secretary to its founder in 1951, the championship attracted a couple of thousand people and cost £1,225 to stage. Today around 150,000 come to it and it costs over £1 million.
A Co Mayo GP, Dr Jerry Cowley, was given an award for his work in developing local community services in the Mulranny area. Since he arrived in the area in 1981, he has formed a company which first built 16 sheltered houses for the aged and people with disabilities, and then highsupport accommodation for 30 people whose disabilities are too severe for them to live in sheltered housing.
He was also responsible for providing a local amenity centre with sports facilities, a community kitchen and laundry, and for the construction of a six-acre industrial park.