Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Geldof to get Freedom of City
Anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof has said that he is thrilled to be receiving the Freedom of the City of Dublin after Dublin City Council voted to bestow the honour on him and Olympic gold medallist Ronnie Delaney last night."I feel very proud," Geldof told RTÉ today. "Where I live in England gave me the freedom of that place, and Newcastle and various cities, but if you are going to be honoured, then it's from your home town that you want more than anything else," he added.
Dublin's Lord Mayor, Catherine Byrne, made the proposal to honour the two men, but the move was opposed by the leader of the Fianna Fáil group, Maurice Ahern, on procedural grounds.
Councillor Ahern said his party had only formally learned of the plan at 6pm yesterday evening and needed more time to consider the issue.
A sharp exchange of views ensued, after which the Council unanimously agreed to bestow the honour.
Personally, I have alot of respect for Bob Geldof. I suppose he gets his fair share of stick from some quarters but he's done more than most for the starving people of Africa.
I think he's certainly befitting of this honour and it's nice that Maurice Ahern agreed...eventually.
# posted by United Irelander @ 4:12 PM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
