Veronica Guerin has been honoured as a press hero by a leading international journalists' organisation.
The Sunday Independent journalist who was shot dead four years ago has been named a press freedom hero by the International Press Institute.
Ms Guerin was among 50 journalists from all over the world who were honoured by the IPI at the institute's 50th birthday general assembly in Boston.
Ms Guerin, then 37, was shot dead as she sat in her car on the Naas Road in Dublin on June 26th, 1996. Two men, Paul Ward and Brian Meehan, are serving life sentences for her murder.
Harold Evans, former editor of the Sunday Times, and Katharine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, were also cited for their "leadership, bravery and dedication in the name of a free and open press".
Writing about Ms Guerin in the IPI's magazine IPI Report, Michael Kudlak said: "A fearless investigative reporter, Veronica Guerin's daring coverage of Dublin's criminal underworld exposed corruption, angered organised crime figures and led to her eventual assassination.
"Her death caused national outrage and led to a Government crackdown on organised crime that netted more than 150 arrests."
The IPI selection committee received 123 nominations from countries around the world.
"The selection committee decided candidates should have made a significant contribution to the defence and promotion of press freedom during the last 50 years, especially if this involved acts of resistance or bravery under harsh conditions such as physical attacks, threats, harassment, censorship, imprisonment, kidnapping or exile, or administrative, legal and economic pressure," the IPI said.
The IPI, founded in May 1951, is recognised as the leading global institution dedicated solely to the defence of press freedom.