Olympic gold medallist Kellie Harrington, activist Ailbhe Smyth and cyber psychologist Professor Mary Aiken have received the Freedom of the City of Dublin.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland bestowed the honour in a ceremony in the Mansion House this evening.
Ms Gilliland paid tribute to Ms Smyth for her work in the areas of human rights, social justice and academia, Prof Aiken for her work in the areas of cyberpsychology, online safety and security, and Ms Harrington for her "unstinting work in the community, her caring exemplar and role modelling for young people" and for her sporting achievements.
"The Freedom of the City is the highest civic honour Dublin City can bestow," Ms Gilliland said.
"It is a privilege for me to confer the Freedom on these three most deserving recipients, Ailbhe Smyth, Professor Mary Aiken and Kellie Harrington."
Ms Smyth said she is "deeply honoured and absolutely delighted to receive the Freedom of the City I love and have lived in all my life".
Prof Aiken said that she does not view this as an award for personal endeavour, but that she is "delighted that it highlights the science and work focused on creating a safer and more secure cyberspace."
"It is an honour to be considered in the same roll call as JFK, Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa," she added.
Fantastic moment as Ailbhe Smyth, lifelong activist and campaigner for Women's rights receives Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin 👏🏻👏🏻 @ailbhes pic.twitter.com/4ntdG09lwn
— Orla O'Connor (@OrlaNWCI) June 11, 2022
The Freedom has previously been conferred on 83 people, with the most recent recipients being former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin on 18 January 2020 and outgoing Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan on 19 June 2021.
Tonight's recipients were presented with a gift from the city of a piece of Dublin Crystal.
