By Business & Finance 
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.
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. 10 diverse categories, and 2 special recognition awards, will recognise the brightest minds and showcase the reinvention of the Financial Services sector. Michael Noonan will be named as recipient of the Pádraig Ó hUiginn Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services Award. This headline award highlights Ó hUiginn’s integral service to the Irish economy and as a driving force behind the development of the IFSC.
FS Awards Finalists
Specialist Lender Award
BlueStone Motor Finance
CapitalFlow
First Citizen Finance DAC
Linked Finance
Customer Experience Award
Bank of Ireland
BlueStone Motor Finance
BNY Mellon
Engage Hub
Liberty Insurance
PTSB
Innovative Banking Product Award
Alviere
Deutsche Bank
Money Jar
PTSB
Revolut
Fintech Innovation Award
Alviere
Global Shares
Liberty Insurance
Strikepay
Taxback International
Xtract 360
Payments Innovation Award
Corlytics
Elavon
Prommt
Revolut
Square
Strikepay
Compliance & Reg Tech Award
AQMetrics
Corlytics
Equine MediRecord
Know Your Customer
Legitify
The Assessment Management Exchange
International Finance Award
Alviere
Desucla
Vertex
Diversity, Equality & Inclusion Award
Aviva
Fisher Investments
Goodbody
Liberty Insurance
Northern Trust
PTSB
FS Challenger Award
Alviere
BNY Mellon
Capital Flow
ID-Pal
Strikepay
Taxback International
Sustainable Finance Award
AIB
Aviva
Ethico
First Derivatives
Vivid Edge
Pádraig Ó hUiginn Outstanding Contribution to Financial Services
Former Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD.
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, spoke about the finalists: “I’m delighted to announce the finalists of the prestigious FS Awards. These finalists represent excellence and innovation in the Financial Services Industry. These leaders of today inspire the change-makers of tomorrow to create opportunities and realise even greater success.”
Ian Nelson, Head of Financial Services and Head of Regulatory for KPMG Ireland: “KPMG is delighted to support the inaugural FS Awards, and we are looking forward to celebrating the very best in Ireland’s Financial Services industry on October 27th. The level of entries across the ten categories is outstanding and demonstrates why Ireland is recognized as one of the leading financial services centres in Europe and a location of choice for many international finance firms.”
