ENVIRONMENTALIST DUNCAN STEWART is set to be nominated for the Freedom of Dublin.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy, with the support of Group Leaders on Dublin City Council, is proposing to nominate Stewart.

The nomination of Stewart for the Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin will be made tomorrow morning at a meeting of Dublin City Council’s Protocol Committee.

It will then go forward for approval at the next monthly meeting of Dublin City Council next week on 12 June.

Speaking ahead of the nomination, Lord Mayor Conway said: “Duncan Stewart is highly deserving of this honour.

“In fact, I can’t think of any other Irish person who has done more over such a long period of time to spread the word about environmental issues.

“Duncan was passionately campaigning on this topic years before it received the global attention it commands today.”

Stewart, widely known for Eco Eye which aired its final episode on RTÉ in February, is set to become the first environmentalist to receive the honour.

He will join an illustrious list of Freemen and Freewomen that includes former US presidents John F Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa.

Other people to have been awarded the honour include former Dublin Football Managers Kevin Heffernan and Jim Gavin, broadcaster Gay Byrne and poet Thomas Kinsella.

Kellie Harrington, Ailbhe Smyth and Professor Mary Aiken were the last people to be awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2022.

Ancient duties of a Freeman or Freewoman included being ready to defend the city from attack and joining the city militia at short notice.

Other ancient privileges afforded was the right to pasture sheep on common ground within the city boundaries and the right to bring goods into Dublin through the city gates, without paying customs duties.