Irish transgender woman Dr Lydia Foy has been honoured by the European Parliament.

Dr Foy has been awarded the prestigious Citizen's Prize, in recognition of her campaign for the rights of Transgender people in Ireland.

Her 22 year battle to have her gender legally recognised led to the Gender Recognition Act, which allows Trans people in Ireland to obtain a new birth certificate in their true gender.

Lydia Foy became the first Trans person in Ireland to receive her new birth certificate last month.

She was the only Irish recipient of the Citizen's Prize this year at the Parliament Building in Brussels today.

Lydia was nominated for the honour by Sinn Féin MEPs Martina Anderson, Lynn Boylan, Matt Carthy and Liadh Ní Riada, who attended the celebration along with representatives of the Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) groups.

“The award is an acknowledgement by the European Parliament of all those who had campaigned for LGBT rights in Ireland for so many years and who had this year set an example of tolerance and diversity for our European partners,” FLAC Senior Solicitor Michael Farrell said.

“Lydia Foy had fought a lonely battle to save a new generation of Trans people from the hardships suffered by her generation," he added.