Geldof 'thrilled' by Freedom of the City award

Bob Geldof today declared it was an overwhelming honour to be given the Freedom of the City in his home town of Dublin.

As he stood on the platform alongside Irish Olympic gold medalist Ronnie Delaney with rain dripping down, he said: “It is raining and it’s cold but it is a beautiful day, I can’t think of a more beautiful day for me.”

With three of his daughters Peaches, Pixie and Tiger sitting alongside his 91-year-old father Bob Geldof Snr – the Dubliner said it was almost too much of an honour to be given such an accolade by the city council.

Accepting a globe designed by Waterford Crystal in honour of his humanitarian work over the past 20-years, he said: “If London made me, then Dublin formed me. To be a Freeman of one of the most free cities in the planet is indeed something.”

Outside Dublin’s Mansion House, the singer added: “To hear the list of people, the 76 people who have been granted the Freedom of the City over a thousand years – that was a pigeon shitting on my head by the way, those free Dublin pigeons – to be granted the freedom of the city with (Nelson) Mandela ... that is indeed something.”

To thunderous applause, Geldof, who revealed the only one of his heroes not on the exclusive list was Martin Luther King, said: “I am a Freeman of this City and I can say in different circumstances – Free at last, free at last please God Almighty free at last.”

He said: “When I say it is a free city, the atmosphere here the ability to say and do what you want is freer here than in most cities around the world. So I am thrilled.”

Delaney, who won a gold medal in the 1956 Olympic Games running for Ireland and broke the four-minute mile in the 1950s, said he was thrilled to follow in the footsteps of such an illustrious list of people in receiving the Freedom of the City.

Dublin Lord Mayor, Catherine Byrne, said: “Both in their own right have been wonderful ambassadors for Dublin and for Ireland, making major contributions in their chosen fields and holding a particular place in the hearts of Irish people everywhere.”

Those who have received the honour include Irish Statesmen like Eamon De Valera, international statesmen like John Fitzgerald-Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and religious leaders including Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Pope John Paul II.

Both Delaney and Geldof joked they may be considering rounding up their sheep, as U2 did in 2000 after receiving the honour, and availing of the obscure right to graze livestock in Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green.

Admitting the city had changed drastically from the one he left in his youth, Geldof said: “I have lived all my life in this town, and in memory this town and in reality during my childhood was a little brown, little pinched, little parochial town on the edge of Europe.”

“And it didn’t seem to connect at all with the world that I was hearing coming in on the radio and imagining coming in on my head.

“In 1975, myself and a group of friends got together to make a band that would articulate the possibility of a different Ireland.

“I am equally proud the first ever rock n’ roll number one, indeed the first in a new wave, was from an Irish band called the Boomtown Rats, and it was wrote about this city and it was called Rat Trap.”

He said he was now coming back to a city, known for its youthful opportunities throughout Europe.

Pointing towards the generosity of Irish people to support charity work, he said: “You now have this expansive city, one that sort of marries the generosity of a nation.”

After the ceremony, one of Geldof’s daughters, Pixie, said: “We don’t get to spend a lot of time here is to is nice to come here and see the family, and it is a great honour for him.

“We are just proud kids really.”