By Business & Finance 
Michael Noonan will be named as recipient of the Pádraig Ó hUiginn Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services Award at the upcoming inaugural Business & Finance FS Awards.
The FS Awards will take place on the 27th October in the Round Room of The Mansion House, Dublin, and will celebrate 35 years of the IFSC. 16 diverse categories will recognise the brightest minds and showcase the reinvention of the Financial Services sector. This headline award highlights Ó hUiginn’s integral service to the Irish economy and as a driving force behind the development of the IFSC.
Pádraig Ó hUiginn
Senior Civil servant and businessman, Padraig Ó hUiginn, had a fifty-year career in the Civil Service before retiring in 1993 – and moving into the private sector.
He entered the civil service in 1941 and served for over fifty years where he was innovative in his endeavours to progress social and economical change and to capture and utilise opportunities for the benefit of all. His name is synonymous with high profile projects such as the IFSC, Temple Bar, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), but he is perhaps best remembered for his role as secretary general of the Department of The Taoiseach, a position he held from 1982-1993.
In addition to his secretary general role, Ó hUiginn also served as economic affairs officer, UN Economic Commission in Geneva; was officer-in-charge of Housing, Planning and Building at the UN Headquarters in New York; and was director for Regional Policy and deputy director general for Energy, Science and Technology at the EC Council of Ministers in Brussels.
After he left the civil service he experienced success in the private sector, most notably through his involvement as a director of Denis O’Brien’s Esat Telecom, which was taken over by British Telecom in 2000. He died in 2019 aged 94 years.
Michael Noonan
Former Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD, will be honoured with the Pádraig Ó hUiginn Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services Award at the inaugural Business & Finance FS Awards in October. He was first elected to the Dail in 1981 and has held a number of senior cabinet positions including leader of Fine Gael between February 2001 and May 2002. He represented the constituency of Limerick City.
The Fine Gael politician became Minister for Finance in 2011 and was re-appointed on 6 May 2014 before finally stepping down in 2017. Credited as one of Europe’s most experienced finance ministers, he oversaw Ireland’s financial crisis and subsequent recovery. It was he who implemented the post-crisis austerity measures as stipulated by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. Ireland’s economy recovered to become the fastest-growing economy in the eurozone for a number of years.
He was Minister for Justice between 1982 and1986 and held two different ministerial posts between 1986 and 1987, that of Minister for Industry, Commerce and Trade and Minister for Energy respectively. He was Minister for Health between 1994 and 1997, and has also served as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.
Ian Hyland, Publisher Business & Finance, said: ‘It is truly a great honour to be the custodian of this very special award named after Pádraig Ó’hUiginn who was one of Ireland’s most outstanding civil servants. It is only fitting that the inaugural honouree is Michael Noonan who has given his life to Public Service and served Ireland as Finance Minister at one of the most critical periods in the history of the State.’
Ian Nelson, Head of Financial Services, KPMG said: “I am delighted to note that Michael Noonan will be the inaugural recipient of the Pádraig Ó’hUiginn Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services. It is great to acknowledge the great service Michael played in Financial Services in Ireland as Minister for Finance from 2011 until 2017. We look forward to celebrating this award and the achievements of Ireland’s Financial Services Industry later this month.”
Early Bird tables for the Awards are now available. For more information on table sales and the FS Awards, please go to https://fsdublin.com/
