Aung San Suu Kyi - Visits Dublin (7408454526)

The Freedom of the City of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

is awarded by

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

after approving a person nominated by the Lord Mayor. Eighty-two people have been honoured under the current process introduced in 1876. Most honourees have made a contribution to the life of the city or of Ireland in general, including politicians, public servants, humanitarians, artists and entertainers; others were distinguished members of the Irish diaspora and foreign leaders, honoured visiting Dublin. Honourees sign the roll of freedmen in a ceremony at City Hall or the Mansion House and are presented with an

illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...

scroll by the Lord Mayor.

Ancient privileges and duties

ancient borough The ancient boroughs were a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is large ...

s such as Dublin, a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

established the privileges of the "burgesses" (or "citizens" in places like Dublin with

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

). Admission as a freeman or citizen was principally granted to members of the

Guilds of the City of Dublin The Guilds of the City of Dublin were associations of trade and craft practitioners, with regulatory, mutual benefit and shared religious purposes. In their eventual number they were sometimes called the "25 ''minor corporations''", in contrast ...

and others by "special grace", as well as by marriage or descent from existing citizens. The wealthy could buy freedom by paying a "fine", and some of the penal laws facilitated Protestant immigrants' becoming freemen. Ancient charters were superseded for municipal governance purposes by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 and for all other non-ceremonial purposes by the Local Government Act 2001. Nevertheless, ancient privileges and duties of freemen are sometimes cited in relation to the modern award. Rights included: * Exemption from

octroi Octroi (; fro, octroyer, to grant, authorize; Lat. ''auctor'') is a local tax collected on various articles brought into a district for consumption. Antiquity The word itself is of French origin. Octroi taxes have a respectable antiquity, bein ...

charged on goods brought through the

city gates A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, good ...

. *

Pasturage Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

of sheep on city

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

, which included College Green and

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...

. This right was exercised as a

publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utilize ...

by U2 members the day after their 2000 conferring. * The

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in municipal elections, and in the Irish parliamentary borough of Dublin (after the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ir ...

in the UK parliamentary borough of Dublin). Freedmen had a duty to defend the city and could be called into the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

at short notice. In 1454, apprentices to be admitted freemen needed a bow and sword, while merchants additionally needed a

coat of mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

and helmet.

Honorary Freedom

While the Representation of the People Act 1918 abolished the franchise rights of freemen, the Municipal Privileges Ireland Act 1876 allowed the establishment of the title of "Honorary Freemen".Clark (2000) p.34 This was retained by Local Government Act 1991 and currently the Local Government Act 2001. ;Notes

Sources

References

External links

Freedom of the City
88 photographs from the Dublin City Council public libraries website {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Of The City Of Dublin Culture in Dublin (city)

Dublin (city)-related lists Irish awards