A Catholic priest from Mombasa has received the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for his humanitarian works.
Father Gabriel Dolan received his award from President Michael Higgins during a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin, Northern Ireland.
Dolan is a St Patrick's Missionary Society member, also known as the Kiltegan Fathers, due to its initial headquarters in Kiltegan, County Wicklow. He was born in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
The awards are given annually to recognize remarkable achievements by Irish individuals living abroad.
His prize was in the Peace, Reconciliation, and Development category, acknowledging his over 40 years of service as a missionary in Kenya and human rights champion.
“I am humbled and honoured to receive the Presidential Distinguished Service Award. Among this year’s group, I am the only person serving in Africa, and the only priest or religious person,” Fr Dolan said.
“I dedicate the award to those heroes, and the suffering people of Palestine, “ he stated.
He was ordained in 1982 and went to Kenya, where he worked in Kitale until transferring to Mombasa in 2008.
In Mombasa, he spearheaded the development of Haki Yetu, a human rights NGO that campaigns for the rights of underprivileged communities in informal settlements.
Haki Yetu is well-known for her work defending disadvantaged, landless people as well as victims of forced evictions and previous land abuses.
It also promotes gender equality and fights to protect the rights of survivors of gender-based abuse, as well as elderly people accused of witchcraft.
Misean Cara Chief Executive Officer John Moffett, who has supported Dolan’s work since 2013, said the priest is a passionate human rights activist.
Misean Cara CEO John Moffett, who has supported Dolan's work since 2013, described the priest as a dedicated human rights fighter.
In 2004, Dolan received the annual Law Society of Kenya Fr Kaiser Human Rights Award for his efforts to uphold the rule of law and human rights. Former Vice President Moody Awori honoured him with the prize.
