Columban priest Fr PJ McGlinchey has been named as one of the recipients of a Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.
The award recognises the service given to this country or to Irish communities abroad by those who live outside Ireland.
First arriving in 1954, Fr McGlinchey, a native of Donegal, has spent his missionary life on Jeju island, about 80 miles off the southern coast of South Korea.
The citation for his award states that, faced “with a society that was deeply traumatised and ravaged by poverty”, and led by his faith and knowledge in agriculture, “he set about helping to pull thousands of Jeju citizens out of poverty.
“For 60 years, his extraordinary drive, dedication and vision has changed the lives of those on Jeju, and Ireland is now associated with this great island.
“His tireless dedication gave them not just hope but a belief in what they could achieve themselves.”
Fr McGlinchey developed a profitable farming system and formed a credit union on the island which dramatically changed the economy of the island and helped the people there to emerge from poverty.
He also established Isidore Nursing Home, hospice, kindergarten and a youth centre which caters for over 18,000 young people.