Former President Mary McAleese and her husband Senator Martin McAleese have been announced as the joint recipients of the 2011 Tipperary International Peace Award.

In a statement Tipperary Peace Convention said that they “are delighted to recognize the efforts of Mary and Martin McAleese in the promotion of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.”

The Convention stated that the theme of Mary McAleese's Presidency was 'Building Bridges' and “for many people, the highlight of her two terms as President was the visit of Queen Elizabeth to Ireland in March 2011, which undoubtedly was the culmination of President McAleese’s long and dedicated work for reconciliation.”

They stated that “along with her work for reconciliation she also used her time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion and anti-sectarianism and her Presidency has been a healing one for which this and future generations will be eternally grateful. “
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The group stated that “Mary McAleese was assisted every step of the way in the work of promoting peace and reconciliation by her husband, Martin. He initiated a series of meetings with senior loyalist paramilitary leaders to pursue peace negotiations. These actions have been widely viewed as instrumental in bringing loyalist paramilitary groups to peace talks. The valuable work that he did in reaching out to people in the loyalist community enabled the development of a shared Ireland beyond violence and conflict. “

The statement went on “In view of the work carried out by Mary and Martin McAleese in promoting peace and reconciliation, Tipperary Peace Convention is delighted to announce that they are the joint recipients of the 2011 Tipperary International Peace Award.

The Award will be presented in Tipperary at a date to be announced in 2012. Mary and Martin McAleese were selected form a short list of nominees that included Her Majesty Queen Nour Al Hussein of Jordan, Former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter and Former Chief of Protocol of the United States, Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker.

Previous recipients of the Tipperary International Peace Award include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Live Aid Organizer Bob Geldof, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Prime Minister of Lebanon the late Rafic Hariri, Afghan Human Rights Activist Dr. Sima Samar, Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and her brother the late Ted Kennedy.