Tributes have been paid in north Mayo to farmer Willie Corduff who is due to be presented with the $125,000 (€91,770) Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco, US, tonight.
Mr Corduff (53), who was jailed in 2005 over opposition to the Corrib gas pipeline, and Icelandic businessman Orri Vigfusson (64), who campaigned for a ban on wild salmon drift-netting in Ireland, are among six international winners of this year's awards.
Mr Corduff was selected for Europe, and other winners from Canada, Zambia, Mongolia and Peru have been involved in campaigns to preserve the environment and stop destructive exploitation of mineral resources.