Barack Obama's Freedom of Dublin City would bestow him with ancient privileges
Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are set to visit the capital in September, where they've been invited to formally accept their Freedom of Dublin City honor.
The prestigious title was bestowed upon the couple by Dublin City Council back in February 2017, following Obama's eight-year tenure as US President.
However, due to time constraints, they were unable to officially accept it at the time. Now, Lord Mayor Ray McAdam is extending an invitation for them to receive the official grant and sign the honor roll. While the Freedom of Dublin City is largely ceremonial in contemporary Ireland, historically, it came with specific privileges and responsibilities.
READ MORE: Lip reader reveals Donald Trump's raunchy request to Melania and First Lady's two-word response
For instance, freemen and women had the right to graze sheep on College Green or St Stephen's Green, but they also had a duty to defend Dublin city from attack.
Other notable figures who have received this honor include all four members of U2, Nelson Mandela, Jim Gavin, and John F Kennedy. More recent recipients include Kellie Harrington, Greta Thunberg, and Dr Tony Holohan, reports Dublin Live.
In a letter to the Obamas, Lord Mayor Ray McAdam expressed his willingness to host a full meeting of Dublin City Council to formally present the honor.
For all the latest news straight to your inbox, sign up for our FREE newsletters here.
Reflecting on their 2011 visit to Dublin, he said: "It remains one of the defining moments of modern Dublin's story- a moment of shared hope, friendship and global connection."
Seat Unique will be hosting An Evening with Barack Obama on September 26 at Dublin's 3Arena. Tickets can be found on Ticketmaster.
Former U.S. President Obama has Irish roots on his mother's side.
His ancestry was traced back to a man named Falmouth Kearney, his great-great-great-grandfather, who was born in Moneygall, a small village on the border of Counties Offaly and Tipperary in Ireland, in 1831.
In May 2011, President Obama visited Moneygall, where he received a warm welcome and even poured a pint of Guinness at the local pub.
The visit became a major cultural moment in Ireland and highlighted the country's strong diaspora connections
For the latest local news and features on Irish America, visit our homepage here.
Article continues below
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Minister wants to see 9% Vat rate on energy maintained in budget
The lower 9% Vat rate on gas and electricity should be retained in the upcoming budget to avoid further hiking energy prices for consumers, energy minister Darragh O'Brien has said. The lower rate was originally introduced in 2022 as part of a major cost-of-living package from the Government, with Vat falling from 13.5% to 9%. Speaking yesterday, Mr O'Brien said the reduction in the Vat rate was a 'very important' measure on affordability, and he wanted to see it extended into 2026. However, he said any decision to retain the rate would be made as part of the budget process. The Tax Strategy Group has estimated the total cost of retaining the lower Vat rate is €193.3m — €58.2m for gas and €140.1m for electricity. In previous years, the cut has been extended six months at a time, with the most recent extension coming in April. Each six-month extension has provided estimated savings of €26.60 on electricity and €20.28 on gas for consumers for the duration of the period. Price increases The modest savings have been dwarfed, however, by price increases introduced by the major utility companies. A number of energy providers have again opted to increase their rates in recent months, with Flogas confirming a hike in variable electricity charges by 7% from next month. This is expected to increase bills for Flogas electricity customers by €126 annually. In April, SSE Airtricity hiked electricity bills by 10.5% and gas bills by 8.4%, the latest in a spate of increases since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr O'Brien said the prices for energy have 'levelled off' after a spate of surges in recent years, but conceded that Ireland's energy costs remain too high. Households here pay nearly 30% more for electricity than the EU average, costing approximately €350 more annually. Gas prices are approximately 10% above the EU average. Irish householders are paying the third-most expensive prices for electricity in Europe, behind only Germany and Denmark. The Dáil has heard that there are more than 300,000 people in arrears on their electricity bills, while more than 175,000 are in arrears on their gas bills. The minister for energy said this increase was a matter for concern, and anyone in arrears should enter into an arrangement with their provider. Energy Affordability Taskforce Mr O'Brien met with the recently-established Energy Affordability Taskforce on Thursday, and said an interim report would be provided to the Cabinet ahead of the budget in October. However, he ruled out the prospect of energy credits making a return, saying there was a very significant cost associated with the measure. 'That was €3.5bn and that was in the teeth of the cost-of-living crisis, particularly post the outbreak of the war in Ukraine,' Mr O'Brien said. He said the costs for one-off payments were very significant, and reduced the amount of money the Government could funnel into medium- and long-term measures to make energy more affordable.
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Reducing Vat rate a blunt and costly policy instrument for hospitality
Less than a week on from its publication, one of the fundamental assumptions underpinning the summer economic statement has changed with the agreement of the EU-US trade deal. This will have implications for October's budget and a potential reduction in the overall budgetary package outlined by the Government just a week ago. Of the total budget package detailed in the summer economic statement, €1.5bn has been allocated to a "tax package". The Government identifies the narrowness of Ireland's tax base as a cause of concern in the summer economic statement, noting that income tax, corporation tax, and revenue make up the bulk of Ireland's tax base. At a time of heightened global economic uncertainty, increased tariffs for Irish exporters, a growing and ageing population, increasing demand for and pressure on services, a further narrowing of Ireland's tax base in the budget would seem at odds with the programme for government commitment to maintain a broad tax base "to guard against the need for counter-cyclical fiscal policy in the event of a downturn" and prepare for demographic change. Much of the subsequent discussion on the so-called "tax package" has been the commitment in the programme for government to support the hospitality sector through changes to Vat and its implications in terms of the space available for any income tax changes in the budget. According to the Department of Finance, a reduction in the Vat rate for the hospitality sector to 9% would cost almost €900m a year This discussion fails to look at the broader context, the impact to date of "tax packages" introduced by the previous government from 2020-2025, and the precariousness of Ireland's tax base. Looking at budgetary policy of the last government, income gaps have opened up between working households, and the gap between people and households at the bottom and middle of the income distribution and those at the top has grown. This has been driven by the skewed nature of income tax reduction choices which prioritised higher earners and provided relatively little to low income workers paying income tax at the standard rate. This was further compounded by the concentration of temporary cost-of-living measures among lower income households, supports that will fade away. The tax packages contained in those budgets are permanent, costly, and have not reached those working households who have been most impacted by rising costs. Ireland's tax base is narrow, dominated by three revenue streams, and our over exposure in terms of corporation tax is a major concern Rather than looking at how to build a broad and sustainable tax base, recent discussion has focused on the "tax package", the cost of the aforementioned Vat reduction for the hospitality sector, which would narrow Ireland's tax base further, and how much this would leave for an "income tax package" which — if modelled on previous budgetary policy — will see the income gaps between working households grow further. Softening demand Looking at Vat, it accounted for 23% of Ireland's total tax revenue last year. At present, the hospitality sector is subject to the reduced 13.5% Vat rate. The sector was subject to the lower rate of 9% from 2011 to 2018, and again from late 2020 to mid-2023 at an estimated cost of €3.6bn. The sector has identified high energy costs, softening demand, labour market challenges, increased cost of inputs, and a lack of hotel capacity as the main challenges facing the industry and the rationale for a return to the 9% VAT rate. However, a recent Department of Finance examination of the Vat reduction for the hospitality sector since 2011 concluded that the reduction was not always passed on to customers in the form of lower prices, it was highly regressive in that it benefitted higher income households more than lower income households, and it was very costly. It is clear that parts of the hospitality sector are under significant pressure, but other parts of it are doing very well Reducing the Vat rate is a very blunt and costly policy instrument. It will not lower energy costs, it will not increase demand, nor will it address the challenge of full employment or produce more hotel capacity — the very issues that the sector itself has identified as major challenges. The Government and the sector must look at other available sustainable measures to support the industry, including measures used in other EU member states to support hospitality and tourism. Calls for new tax breaks, or the return of old ones, are a feature of most periods of economic and social recovery. However, their provision involves great cost to the State and the unequal allocation of these resources to small groups of beneficiaries. Few of these initiatives have proven to be worthwhile in the past — in particular the opportunity cost of using the revenue in a better way is frequently overlooked. As the first of the kites are flown in advance of Budget 2026, the Government should turn its attention to those who have been most impacted by persistent rising prices, and use the resources available to ensure that vulnerable households are protected and supported through adequate social welfare rates, and that growing income gaps between working households are closed. It must deliver on the commitment to progressive budgets and build a broad and sustainable revenue base that can meet the needs of a growing and ageing population This requires developing progressive policies and measures in a fair taxation system, and working with the hospitality sector to identify sustainable ways to fund the maintenance of the hospitality and tourism industry. A reduction in Vat for the hospitality sector is costly and it won't address the challenges the sector faces. It didn't address these core issues in the 124 months that it was applied between 2011 and 2023, and there is no evidence to suggest that it will do so if applied again in Budget 2026. Michelle Murphy is a research and policy analyst at Social Justice Ireland
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner view: Misreporting on social media adding to crime burden
We have reached a point in Irish life where serious crimes must not only be dealt with on their own terms, but the reporting and representation of those crimes have become entirely separate challenges. The attack on a garda earlier this week in Dublin city centre is a case in point — the crime itself exists in parallel with how it has been misrepresented and weaponised by those following their own agenda. It is welcome news that assistant Garda commissioner for the Dublin metropolitan region, Paul Cleary, is to meet with Coimisiún na Meán, the media regulator, regarding the incident. Mr Cleary is expected to push for social media companies to do more on disinformation and its associated dangers. This is a serious problem. Soon after the Garda attack in Dublin this week, former MMA fighter Conor McGregor referred to the incident online and cited the Irish Government's 'human trafficking racket' in a post which was viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Whether anyone should be giving credence to the views of Mr McGregor, a convicted criminal, is immaterial; as Mr Cleary pointed out, misinformation and disinformation are '...concerning, and we would ask people to make sure that the source of their information is credible'. The fact that Mr Cleary is to meet with Coimisiún na Meán coincides with a parallel story developing this week. Social media platform X is expected to appeal a High Court ruling dismissing its action against Coimisiún na Meán over its online safety code. The code sets out legally binding rules for video-sharing platforms and is aimed at protecting the public, and especially children, from harmful online content. The fact that the post mentioned above from Mr McGregor featured on X gives this story a certain neatness. What is more significant is that such legal challenges function as implicit endorsements of the work of Coimisiún na Meán and suggest it is achieving its aims. The wholehearted support of the Government is now needed to ensure the regulator can continue that work. Housing crisis - All fixes must be considered With no end of the accommodation crisis in sight, we have grown accustomed to hearing that all solutions must be considered to relieve what should be seen as a national disgrace. That should be borne in mind, perhaps, when considering a new proposal from the Government — public consultation begins this week on a measure to increase the allowance for cabins or garden homes up to a size of 45sq m, larger than the original suggested upper limit of 40sq m. Minister of state for planning John Cummins said the plan was a practical move which would provide housing options for people with a disability or young people wishing to live independently of the family home in the short term. Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne was scathing, saying the plan was open to exploitation and that there were 'real concerns about the impact of allowing a huge number of unregistered log cabins proliferate ... without regard for sufficient sewerage facilities, water capacity, or fire safety access'. Mr Hearne's points were well made — we have seen plenty of exploitation in terms of what is being offered in the rental market to those desperate for accommodation; questions of safety and infrastructure are also valid, given the kinds of structures involved. Even those who see this measure as a retrograde step must also consider the alternative, however. Almost 16,000 people are homeless in Ireland, and a huge proportion are children. Would those families be better off homeless or in these garden homes? The decisions and factors which have brought us to this point are matters for discussion, but there are far more urgent questions facing us. We have a pressing need for safe accommodation in this country when the homeless outnumber the population of places such as Castlebar, Wicklow Town, and Killarney: Can we afford to disregard any proposal? This measure may be a sticking plaster rather than a permanent cure, but that does not justify outright dismissal. As a society, are we in a position to discard even temporary measures which may house desperate families? Seán Rocks - A voice for arts There was widespread shock with the news yesterday morning of the death of Seán Rocks at the age of 64. As an actor, Rocks featured at the Abbey Theatre and Gate Theatre in Dublin, as well as the Royal Court and National Tricycle theatres in London, appearing on screen in The Bill, Glenroe, and Fair City. However, he was probably best known as a broadcaster. Rocks presented RTÉ Radio One arts programme Arena since it was launched in 2009. Over the years he interviewed dozens of artists of all kinds, including Salman Rushdie, Edna O'Brien, Frank McGuinness, Roddy Doyle, Rupert Everett, Martin Sheen, and Brendan Gleeson. Rocks' rich Monaghan voice was unmistakable and instantly evocative, a suitable successor to other Northern accents in RTÉ's arts slot, such as Benedict Kiely. In June, this newspaper featured an interview with Rocks in the 'Culture That Made Me' slot, where his comments on novelist Claire Keegan could just as easily be applied to his own output. Keegan's writing, he said, 'possesses such integrity. The stories she tells are so wonderfully condensed. Not a word too much. Never a melodrama, just this economic, potent, thought-through sentence after sentence.' Condolences to his family and friends.
