KERRYMAN Dermot O’Grady has been honoured with the Freedom of the City of London.
Mr O'Grady, owner and CEO of the contracting company Ardent Tide Ltd, was presented with the award in a ceremony at the Court of the Commoners at the Guildhall in London.
The Irishman was born in Tralee and grew up in Ballybunion, where his father Dermot O’Grady snr was the local bank manager.
At the age of 16 the family moved to Killorglin, where Dermot now lives with his wife Ruth and three children, commuting weekly to London.
He moved to the English capital in the late 1980s, having graduated from Trinity College Dublin. He subsequently set up Ardent Tide, which services the self-employed sector in the construction industry.
Mr O'Grady told The Irish Post that he was delighted with the ceremony, and very honoured to receive the award.
“It goes back to 123AD and originally celebrated the fact that you were no longer a serf. Today it's bestowed on valued members of the community,” he said.
Some of the ‘honours’ that come with the accolade today seem a little esoteric.
“You can run sheep or cattle into the City along London Bridge," Mr O'Grady joked. "But I doubt I’ll be doing that. Also, as a Freeman you can insist on being hanged with a silk rope. Again, I'll probably not exercise that prerogative!”
Previous recipients of the Freedom of the City of London include Winston Churchill, Bob Geldof, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Bill Gates and Margaret Thatcher.
As well as operating a successful business in the city, Mr O'Grady is well-known for helping young Irish arrivals in the capital through his involvement with the Kerry Association of London.
He is also currently Captain of the Galway Association Golf Society - the Pat Keary branch.
