LIMERICK native John Gilhooly has been awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for ‘superior creative and commendable services in the areas of sciences and the arts’.
Director of renowned chamber music venue Wigmore Hall in London and chairman of the Royal Philharmonic Society, he had the award bestowed upon him by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.
The Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art was created by federal law in 1955. The award honours Austrian or leading international figures who have ‘distinguished themselves and earned general acclaim through especially superior and commendable services in the areas of the sciences or the arts’.
Originally from Lisnagry, Gilhooly (44) was also awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II in her birthday honours list at Buckingham Palace in 2013. While in 2015 he was made a Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland by the President of Finland.
A former pupil of Lisnagry National School, Ardscoil Rís and CBS Sexton Street, the Limerick man is considered one of the most influential arts leaders in the international music world.
He was named as one of Britain’s 500 most influential people by The Sunday Times in 2016.
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