Former US President Barack Obama has received the Freedom of the City of Dublin.
Obama was awarded by the city’s Lord Mayor Ray McAdam at a ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin on Thursday.
However several Dublin councillors opposed the event, citing what they described as his “support for the terrorist regime in Israel,” and his foreign policy in several countries including Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
Dublin City councillors voted to award the former US president and his wife Michelle in 2017, with 30 votes in favour and 23 against.
Obama was presented with a first edition of Ulysses and a bottle of Teeling Whiskey. He said he accepted the honour with “deep humility”.
“These are, undoubtedly, times of great challenge and great change. But it is in moments like these that we are reminded of who we truly are. We are people, the Irish and Americans, who never stop imagining a brighter future for us all,” he said.
“That defiant, enduring hope has always been an unshakeable bond that connects our two countries, and so many others around the world,” he added.
The ceremony was attended by about 30 people, according to Irish broadcaster RTÉ.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam’s six-year-old son presented the former president with a home-made Spider-Man card.
He said: “President Obama has inspired millions around the world with his leadership and his vision for a fairer, more compassionate society. It is fitting that Dublin now welcomes him as a Freeman of our city.”
A group of independent councillors – consisting of councillors Cieran Perry, Nial Ring, John Lyons, Mannix Flynn, Pat Dunne and Kevin Breen – said they believe it is “inappropriate” to bestow the honour and had requested for the lord mayor to rescind his offer.
People Before Profit’s group leader on Dublin City Council, councillor Conor Reddy, wrote to the lord mayor asking for him to reconsider Obama’s appointment, criticising the former US president’s foreign policy decisions.
Sinn Féin group leader, councillor Daithí Doolan, confirmed members from his party would also not be in attendance at the ceremony in alignment with their previous 2017 vote.
However the mayor defended his decision to proceed with the ceremony, telling RTÉ that “no political career is untainted” and “legacies are always contested”.
He said: “Dublin City Council, in its infinite wisdom, decided to grant him (Obama) the Freedom of the City in 2017 and I’m taking the opportunity, when he’s here in our city, to make sure that he receives that award today.”
The Dublin City mayor added that Obama “understands the importance” of award to the people of Dublin and his attendance at the ceremony recognises that fact.
Former Lord Mayor Brendan Carr, who proposed the motion in 2017, said Obama had regretted some US actions in the Middle East and the honour was not a “canonisation” of the couple.
The honorary award is the highest and most prestigious honour Dublin City can bestow.
Ancient privileges that come with the honour include being able to “pasture sheep on common ground within the city boundaries”, including College Green and St Stephen’s Green.
It also entitles recipients the right to bring goods into Dublin through the city gates without paying customs duties and the ability to vote in municipal and parliamentary elections.
Honourees must also accept a list of duties including being ready to defend the city from attack and prepared to be called on to join a city militia at short notice.
To receive the award, the Dublin lord mayor must nominate the person and the city council has to ratify each appointment.
It has been awarded to only 88 people, with environmentalists Duncan Stewart and Greta Thunberg being the most recent recipients in 2023.
Other international figures to receive the honour include former US Presidents Bill Clinton and John F Kennedy and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
