Oscar winning actress Brenda Fricker is to receive the Freedom of Dublin City.
The actress, who is renowned for her Oscar winning portrayal of the mother of Christy Brown in My Left Foot alongside Daniel Day Lewis, is to become the latest recipient of this accolade, alongside John F Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, George Bernard Shaw, Brian O'Driscoll and U2.
She has also been previously been recognised for her contributions to Irish film, including receiving the Maureen O'Hara Award at the Kerry Film Festival in 2008.
Fricker's Freedom of Dublin City nomination was proposed by Dublin Lord Mayor, Ray McAdam, which was backed by the council's protocol committee.
"Brenda Fricker is one of Dublin’s most distinguished cultural figures, and it is a source of immense pride that our city is recognising her in this way", Mr McAdam stated. "This honour is not simply about international acclaim. It is about contribution and the pride Brenda has brought to Dublin and to Ireland".
Fricker won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in My Left Foot in 1990, and her other credits across a forty year career include The Field, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and A Time to Kill, as well as later Irish productions such as Veronica Guerin and Inside I’m Dancing.
Dublin City Council have said that this award does not include any financial benefit, but carries links to historic ceremonial "privileges" traditionally associated with the title, including the right to bring goods into the city without paying customs duties, as well as the right to pasture sheep on common ground within city boundaries.
Back in September, Dublin's Lord Mayor Ray McAdam had invited Barack and Michelle Obama to accept their Freedom of Dublin award during their visit to the capital, which saw the former US President chat to journalist Fintan O'Toole in the 3Arena.
Mr and Mrs Obama were previously awarded the Freedom of Dublin in 2017, but had not accepted it at the time.
"During his term in office, he led with a sense of hope and in terms of Michelle, she was an inspiration to many young girls and women across the world", Mr McAdam said at the time. More on this story here.
