A 95-year-old Donegal man is to be honoured for his ‘outstanding achievement and service’ to his local community in Australia.
Paddy Kerrigan, originally from Bundoran, is to receive the prestigious Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) later this year. His name appeared on the honours list when it was announced last week to mark Australia Day.
He is being recognised for his decades of service to the Snowy Monaro region in New South Wales, between Sydney and Melbourne. The south Donegal native will be presented with his medal at a ceremony later this year by the Governor-General of Australia. This time last year, he received the Cooma Citizen of the Year from the Snowy Monaro Regional Council.
Paddy Kerrigan and his wife of 66 years, Jan, and some of their family members.
Born in 1930 at St Patrick’s Terrace, Bundoran, to John and Kathleen Kerrigan (nee Clarke from Leitrim), Paddy had two older siblings Mary (Mae) and John (Jack), both of whom have since passed away.
Before leaving Donegal, he served his apprenticeship as a carpenter, going on to build houses in Ireland, England and Scotland. In early 1953, he emigrated to Australia, where he began working on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.
In 1999, Mr Kerrigan installed a memorial stone at the local Catholic church to commemorate the Irish men and women who died during construction of the scheme, engraving it himself with a Celtic Cross.
He also played a major role in developing tourism at Old Adaminaby and Lake Eucumbene, famously purchasing a two-storey brick home and relocating it further up the hill to prevent it being flooded by the lake.
Paddy and his wife Jan, married for 66 years, raised their six children there. Together, they operated a teahouse for visitors, provided boat hire for trout fishermen, and even built an underwater observatory at Lake Eucumbene.
Mr Kerrigan also carried out repairs on local community buildings and Kosciuszko huts, and was involved in numerous search and rescue operations on the lake.
In 2023, we published an in-depth interview with Paddy. You can read his remarkable story here: Paddy Kerrigan – The Donegal man who made big moves Down Under!
Donegal man, 95, honoured for ‘outstanding’ community work in Australia was last modified: February 2nd, 2026 by Cronan Scanlon
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