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Your council
The Freedom of the City is the highest civic honour that can be awarded to an individual or organisation.
It is awarded by councillors on behalf of the city in recognition of immense pride, or expressing gratitude for exemplary service.
The first person to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Belfast was William Pirrie in 1898. To date, 59 men, 17 women and 10 organisations have received the Freedom of the City. Dáithí Mac Gabhann is the youngest ever recipient and the only person under 18 to receive it.
Many well-known figures have been made a Freeman of the City including HM Queen Elizabeth II, President Bill Clinton, Kenneth Branagh, Van Morrison and Dame Mary Peters.
It is thought the tradition dates back to the early thirteenth century and while in earlier times there were many privileges and benefits connected to the title, today it is purely honorary.
Despite popular myth, being a Freeman of the City of Belfast does not allow the recipient to graze sheep on the lawns of City Hall or expect complimentary drinks at any of the city’s pubs or hotels.
US President Bill Clinton and Senator George J Mitchell were made Freemen of the City of Belfast in a joint ceremony at the Ulster Hall in April 2018, in recognition of their services to peace-building in Northern Ireland.
|
Freedom of the City recipients |
Date awarded |
|---|---|
| Dáithí Mac Gabhann | 3 June 2023 |
| Healthcare workers and those who worked tirelessly on the frontline during COVID-19 pandemic | 25 August 2022 |
| President William Jefferson Clinton | 9 April 2018 |
| Senator George J Mitchell | 9 April 2018 |
| Sir Kenneth Branagh | 2 October 2017 |
| The Nurses of Belfast | 1 December 2015 |
| Michael Longley | 23 March 2015 |
| Van Morrison | 15 November 2013 |
| Dame Mary Peters | 8 May 2013 |
| The Merchant Navy | 30 April 2002 |
| The Ambulance Service of the Eastern Health and Social Services Board | 11 September 1992 |
| The Northern Ireland Fire Brigade | 21 August 1992 |
| John Hewitt | 26 May 1983 |
| The Royal Ulster Constabulary and The Royal Ulster Constabulary Reserve | 30 May 1980 |
| The Ulster Defence Regiment |
2 May 1980 |
| The Ulster Division of the Royal Naval Reserve | 9 April 1974 |
| Lord Grey of Naunton | 7 November 1972 |
| The Lady Grey of Naunton | 7 November 1972 |
| Alderman Sir Peter Studd | 14 May 1971 |
| The Lady Mayoress of London Lady Studd | 4 May 1971 |
| Alderman Thomas Gibson Henderson | 21 February 1964 |
| Royal Sussex Regiment | 6 October 1961 |
| Royal Air Force, Aldergrove | 5 October 1957 |
| The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Sir Cuthbert Ackroyd, Baronet | 14 September 1956 |
| The Lady Mayoress of London, Lady Ackroyd | 14 September 1956 |
| Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill | 16 December 1955 |
| Councillor Sir James Norritt | 11 November 1955 |
| Margaret Lawson | 11 November 1955 |
| Royal Ulster Rifles | 6 February 1954 |
| Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Gloucester | 1 April 1952 |
| Vice-Admiral The Earl of Granville, Governor of Northern Ireland | 1 January 1952 |
| The Countess Granville | 1 January 1952 |
| Captain The Right Honourable Sir Basil Stanlake Brooke | 1 May 1950 |
| Lady Cynthia Mary Brooke | 1 May 1950 |
| Alderman Sir William Frederick Neill | 3 October 1949 |
| Lady Neill | 3 October 1949 |
| Her Royal Highness The Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh | 2 March 1949 |
| His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh | 2 March 1949 |
| Field Marshal Sir Alan Francis Brook | 3 September 1945 |
| General Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1 June 1945 |
| Field Marshal The Honourable Sir Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander | 5 April 1945 |
| Field Marshal The Honourable Sir Bernard Law Montgomery | 1 November 1944 |
| Alderman James Dunlop Williamson | 1 September 1942 |
| The Duchess of Abercorn | 17 May 1935 |
| His Royal Highness Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Ulster | 3 April 1935 |
| Alderman William MacCartney | 1 January 1935 |
| His Royal Highness Edward Albert, Prince of Wales | 27 October 1932 |
| Councillor Sir William Frederick Coates | 23 January 1931 |
| Lady Coates | 23 January 1931 |
| Sir John Lavery, Knight | 23 January 1930 |
| James Albert Edward, Third Duke of Abercorn | 18 July 1927 |
| Alderman Sir William George Turner | 1 January 1926 |
| Lady Agnes Turner | 1 January 1926 |
| Sir Frederick William Moneypenny | 1 January 1926 |
| Sir Robert Meyer Knight | 8 September 1924 |
| Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George Duke of York | 16 June 1924 |
| Sir James Johnston | 1 December 1922 |
| Hariot Dowager Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava | 1 March 1920 |
| Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson | 1 August 1919 |
| Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, seventh Marquess of Londonderry | 1 August 1919 |
| Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone | 2 September 1918 |
| Henry Musgrave | 1 March 1917 |
| Sir William Quartus Ewart | 1 March 1917 |
| Sir Crawford McCullagh | 23 January 1917 |
| Lady Margaret Craig McCullagh | 23 January 1917 |
| Sir Edward Carson | 4 August 1914 |
| Robert James McMordie | 23 January 1914 |
| Julia McMordie | 23 January 1914 |
| Sir James Henderson | 1 May 1912 |
| J Whitelaw Reid | 1 May 1912 |
| Sir Joseph Larmor | 1 April 1912 |
| Sir Almroth Wright | 1 April 1912 |
| Gustave Wilhelm Wolff | 1 February 1911 |
| Sir John Newell Jordan | 2 August 1910 |
| Andrew Carnegie | 1 June 1910 |
| Sir Robert Hart | 1 July 1908 |
| Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper | 1 January 1908 |
| Sir Donald Currie | 1 May 1906 |
| Margaret Montgomery Pirrie | 5 April 1904 |
| Sir Daniel Dixon | 1 February 1904 |
| Lord Roberts of Kandahar | 9 October 1900 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir George Stuart White | 11 May 1900 |
| The Marquis of Dufferin and Ava | 1 March 1900 |
| The Marquis of Londonderry | 1 March 1900 |
| Thomas Henry Ismay | 1 February 1899 |
| Alderman William James Pirrie | 1 January 1898 |
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