THE President, Mrs Robinson, presented the Irish American Cultural Institute's annual awards in Trinity College Dublin yesterday to writers, artists and cultural institutions.
Poets John Ennis and Liam O Muirthile, who writes in Irish, each received a Butler Literary Award of £5,000.
Charles Brady, an oil painter, lithographer and bronze sculptor, won the O'Malley Art Award of £5,000. The American born artist, who is a member of Aosdana, moved to Ireland in 1956.
The Heritage Award of £2,500 went to the Foxford Woollen Mills Visitors Centre.
The Jerome Connor Centre in Annascaul, Co Kerry, won £1,500 in honour of Connor's contributions to sculpture. The award will help the centre to establish a permanent site for Connor's works and further its educational, cultural and recreational work.
The £500 Bernard Croke Memorial Award went to the pipers' club, Na Piobarai Uilleann which selects someone to participate in the Willie Claney Traditional Music Summer School.
Details of the £1,000 RDS Muriel Gahan Crafts Award were also announced. The award for a scholarship or development grant is sponsored by the Irish American Cultural Institute.
The competition is open to all craftworkers and designers in Ireland, including students and apprentices.
Submitted work must be an original design executed by a craftworker in Ireland or by an Irish craftworker living abroad. The winner will be selected by the RDS this autumn.