Sr Stanislaus Kennedy has been announced as a finalist for the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards.
She joins others such as Vivien Lusted and Gena Heraty on the 'Humanitarian of the Year' list.
There are six categories of award: Humanitarian of the Year, Young Humanitarian Award, Journalism Excellence, Innovation for Change, Corporate Impact and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sr Stan, as she is known, is an Irish Sister of Charity who has been on the frontline of social innovation for almost 60 years.
She founded a number of voluntary organisations, including Young Social Innovators and the Sanctuary.
In 1985 she established Focus Ireland, while in 2001 she founded The Immigrant Council of Ireland.
In the 1960s, Sr Stan was active in developing Kilkenny Social Services and - with Bishop Peter Birch - pioneered many new initiatives resulting in a social work model which was used as a blueprint by many others.
In 1970, she co-founded the School of Education in Kilkenny - providing the first professional training for residential childcare workers in Ireland.
She was appointed first chair of the Combat Poverty Agency in 1974.
Image: SuppliedMayo woman Gena Heraty arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1993 and almost three decades later is known all over Haiti for challenging prejudice against people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
She is the coordinator of the special needs programme with Nos Petits Freres et Soeurs (NPFS), a home for orphaned and abandoned children.
Gena's team has developed an outreach programme which provides education for over 100 school children with neurological disorders, while approximately 80 patients a day receive physical therapy treatments.
She is the co-founder of the Kay Christine home for children with special needs at NPFS, which has created services to ensure children with special needs are not abandoned.
Gena has faced a vicious attack by armed men, where one of her colleagues was killed.
Galway nurse Vivien Lusted has worked for the Irish Red Cross for over 14 years on overseas missions in some of the world's toughest armed conflicts - including Iraq, Israel, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Myanmar.
She was recently presented with the Florence Nightingale Medal by President Michael D Higgins, which is the highest distinction a Red Cross Red Crescent nurse can achieve.
The nomination for this award centred around Vivien's 18-month mission in Iraq, where she worked as a detention nurse.
The International Committee of the Red Cross was among the first humanitarian organisations on the ground in the aftermath of the conflict in Mosul.
Former governor of Mountjoy Prison John Lonergan is pictured outside the jail in 2004 | Image: RollingNews.ieThe Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Tipperary man John Lonergan for his contribution to Irish society through his work in Irish prisons, which spans four decades.
John was one of the first people to draw the public's attention to the origins of crime in Ireland, and the connection between criminality and the social, economic and educational circumstances of prisoners and their families.
After three years in Limerick, John moved to Shanganagh Castle in Dublin and following this he worked in a number of prisons and institutions - including Loughan House in Co Cavan when it accommodated teenagers.
In 1984, he was appointed governor of Mountjoy Prison and four years after that, he was transferred to the high-security prison in Portlaoise.
John served as governor of Portlaoise Prison until 1992 when he moved back to Mountjoy, where he again served as governor until he retired in 2010.
The winners will be announced at the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards Ball, which takes place this Saturday in Dublin with Newstalk's Ivan Yates as MC.
