Freedom of the City of Dublin

The Freedom of the City of Dublin is an award bestowed by the people of Dublin on a person nominated by the the Lord Mayor. It is usually awarded for contributions made to the life of the city, as an honour given to certain visiting dignitaries. This award is rarely given; only 74 people have been given the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Among the notable recipients of this award are American presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, as well as Mother Theresa. Two notable recipients who were unable to attend to receive the award are Nelson Mandela as he was still in prison and also Aung San Suu Kyi who is under house arrest and could not leave to accept the award. U2 lead singer Bono is also a holder of this award. Other notable winners are Bob Geldof and Ronnie Delaney [ [http://www.dublincity.ie/YourCouncil/CouncilMeetings/Documents/freedom_of_the_city_meeting_minutes_march_2006.pdf] Minutes of council meeting] [ [http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0305/dublin.html?rss RTE] ]

Ancient privileges and duties [ [http://www.dublincity.ie/YourCouncil/LordMayorDublin/FreedomoftheCity/Pages/FreedomoftheCityHome.aspx Dublin City Council] ]

Holders of this award have some ancient privileges and duties such as

* Holders have the right to bring goods into Dublin through the city gates, without paying customs duties.
* Holders have the right to pasture sheep on common ground within the city boundaries. This includes College Green and St Stephen's Green. (this right was exercised as a publicity stunt by Bono when he brought sheep in to St. Stephens Green).
* The right to vote in municipal and parliamentary elections. Some of the ancient duties are that,
* Freemen/women must be ready to defend the city of Dublin from attack
* At short notice can be called up to join a city militia
* Also a law which was passed in 1454 states that freemen/women must own a bow, a coat of mail, a helmet and a sword.

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