Duncan Stewart to be nominated for Honorary Freedom of Dublin City

Kenneth Fox

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy is proposing to nominate Environmentalist Duncan Stewart for the Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin.

Speaking about the nomination, the Lord Mayor said: “Duncan Stewart is highly deserving of this honour. In fact, I can’t think of any other Irish person who has done more over such a long period of time to spread the word about environmental issues.

"Duncan was passionately campaigning on this topic years before it received the global attention it commands today.”

The nomination will be made on Wednesday morning at the meeting of Dublin City Council’s Protocol Committee, before going forward for approval at the next monthly meeting of Dublin City Council on June 12th.

Mr Stewart is set to become the first Environmentalist to receive the honour and will join an illustrious list of Freemen and Freewomen including former US presidents John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, entertainer Maureen Potter, former Dublin Managers Kevin Heffernan and Jim Gavin, broadcaster Gay Byrne and poet Thomas Kinsella.

Kellie Harrington, Ailbhe Smyth and Professor Mary Aiken were the last people to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin back in 2022.

Duties of a Freeman or Freewoman include being ready to defend the city from attack and joining the city militia at short notice.

Amongst the ancient privileges afforded to a Freeman or Freewoman is the right to bring goods into Dublin through the city gates, without paying customs duties; the right to pasture sheep on common ground within the city boundaries and the right to vote in municipal and parliamentary elections.