Former US president Barack Obama understands the importance of the honour of the Freedom of Dublin, the Lord Mayor of Dublin has said, amid calls by some councillors for a boycott.
Dublin City Council voted in 2017 to grant Mr Obama the honour and he has decided to accept it while in Ireland for an event tomorrow.
He will take part in what is being described as a small intimate ceremony in Dublin with Lord Mayor Ray McAdam and a number of councillors in attendance.
He will receive the award before being invited to sign the roll of honour.
The Independent Group on Dublin City Council has said it will boycott the event due to Mr Obama's "support for the terrorist regime in Israel" and his "murderous foreign policy in Libya, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere".
While People Before Profit-Solidarity's Group Leader on Dublin City Council has said he believes Mr Obama is "not a symbol of peace or freedom".
However, the Lord Mayor of Dublin said he felt Mr Obama is a fitting recipient for the accolade.
Watch: Mayor McAdam defends Obama Freedom of Dublin award amid boycott calls
He noted that since the 12th century, fewer than 90 people have been awarded the honorary Freedom of Dublin, adding that he knows Mr Obama "realizes and understands the importance of this to the people of Dublin".
"This is the highest honour Dublin can bestow on an individual," he said.
"He and his office and his team recognise that fact, and the ceremony that will take place later today will underscore and recognise that fact as well," he added.
The mayor said: "I think the one thing that president Obama did do was that he showed that words with conviction could help change lives and he did that throughout his presidency.
"No political career is untainted and their legacies are always contested.
"But Dublin City Council, in its infinite wisdom, decided to grant him the freedom of the city in 2017 and I'm taking the opportunity, when he's here in our city, to make sure that he receives that award."
Mr McAdam said it is an "immense privilege to meet a former US president and someone who embodies such transformative change as president Obama".
He added that Mr Obama's time in the White House "was a unique term of office", adding that "he faced many challenges".
'Differing opinions' over event - mayor
Of Dublin City Council’s seven group leaders, two have declined their invitation to the ceremony.
They represent People Before Profit-Solidarity and an Independent grouping.
Mr McAdam said there are "differing opinions", noting that the council has 63 members.
"We are a very politically pluralistic council, so if there wasn't a difference of opinion, I would have been surprised," he said.
"We live in a democracy and they are free to say and put forward their arguments," he added.
However, he said: "As Lord Mayor, it is my responsibility to ensure that the will of the elected members is honoured and is fulfilled.
"If those who oppose it at the time or those that are on the city council don't agree with it today, that's okay."
This, he said, is because every political career and its legacy is always questioned.
Mayor McAdams said: "You're not going to have a political career where everyone says you did a great job," he said.
"There'll always be some who will find faults or have question marks about some of the actions or views you took when you're in office," he added.
"That goes the same for a president of the United States as it does for Lord Mayor."
The Independent Group on Dublin City Council, who is boycotting the event, issued a statement in which it said: "The Obama administration granted Israel an unprecedented military aid package of $38 billion in 2015 despite its war crimes in Gaza and relentless settlement expansion.
"His administration objected to Palestine joining the International Criminal Court and opposed any ICC investigation of grave crimes by Israeli officials."
Councillors Cieran Perry, Nial Ring, John Lyons, Mannix Flynn, Pat Dunne and Kevin Breen said the Obama administration carried out more drone strikes in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen compared to the Bush administration.
People Before Profit-Solidarity's Group Leader on Dublin City Council Conor Reddy has refused his invitation to attend the event and encouraged Dubliners to take part in any protests that make take place around the ceremony.
Cllr Reddy said he believes Mr Obama is "not a symbol of peace or freedom but of US imperialism and war", adding that "it is disgrace that Dublin's Mansion House is being used to whitewash the legacy of a war criminal".
He added: "To roll out the red carpet for him in Dublin, at a time when Palestinians are being slaughtered with US weapons, is shameful."
Mr Obama is on Dublin ahead of an event in the 3Arena tomorrow where he will be in conversation with the Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole.
The sold-out event, with an audience of 7,500, follows a similar event in London last night.
A total of 88 people have previously been conferred with the Freedom of Dublin, the most recent being environmentalists Duncan Stewart and Greta Thunberg in June 2023.
Others include Nelson Mandela, John F Kennedy, Mikhail Gorbachev, George Bernard Shaw, U2, Brian O'Driscoll and Dr Tony Holohan.
In 2017, Bob Geldof returned his award in protest at the inclusion of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the roll of honour.
Her name was also removed in 2017.
Privileges that come with the Freedom of Dublin
While no financial benefits are attached to the award, holders of the Honourary Freedom of Dublin have some ancient privileges and duties not applicable to ordinary citizens.
Ancient Privileges include:
The right to bring goods into Dublin through the city gates, without paying customs duties.
The right to pasture sheep on common ground within the city boundaries, including modern-day College Green (formerly Hoggen Green) and St Stephen's Green.
The right to vote in municipal and parliamentary elections.
Ancient Duties include:
Each Freeman or Freewoman must be ready to defend the city from attack.
A Freeman or Freewoman can be called on to join a city militia at short notice.
According to a law passed in 1454, any merchant who becomes a Freeman or Freewoman must possess the following items:
A coat of mail
A bow
A light helmet
A sword of their own.
Freemen from the other trade guilds must have a bow, arrows and a sword.
A law passed in 1465 states that each Freeman or Freewoman has to provide themselves with a longbow (of their length) made of yew, witch-hazel or ash.
They must also have 12 arrows made of the same wood.
