In the shadow of Dev and JFK: Major and Reynolds to get freedom of Cork
Lord Mayor Donal Counihan said he wants to honour the men for their role in building the foundations for peace in Northern Ireland.
He proposed the names at a behind-closed-doors meeting of councillors on Monday.
It falls to the lord mayor each year to put forward his or her own candidate or candidates for the honour.
The nominations must be agreed by all councillors at a full council meeting. But in effect, the nominations are usually agreed in advance by the party whips.
If as expected, the nominations are formally ratified at a full council meeting next Monday week, Major and Reynolds will join Senator George Mitchell and former MEP John Hume, who were also made freemen of Cork for their role in the peace process.
The custom of awarding the freedom of the Cork dates from the 14th century when people who distinguished themselves in public service became an honorary burgess of the city.
Before the reform of Cork Corporation in 1841, the city handed out the honour out to dozens of prominent representatives, including Dean Swift and Captain Richard Roberts who navigated the “Sirius”, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic from Europe. The Sirius made the journey from Cobh to New York in 1838.
A fire in the courthouse in 1891 destroyed several crucial municipal documents which recorded other names.
Before 1887, the so-called Municipal Privileges Act 1875, was passed under which Charles S Parnell and William E Gladstone were elected honorary burgesses.
However, a complete list of freemen of Cork, including honorary freemen, from the period 1609 to 1841, is now available following recent acquisitions by the city library.
More recent recipients of the honour include assassinated US president John F Kennedy in 1963, president Eamon de Valera in 1973, President Mary McAleese, Jack Lynch, Mary Robinson, Sonia O’Sullivan, Roy Keane, and Michael Flatley.
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