‘Ah we’ll get rid of it anyway’ - Waterford Council set to scrap ‘archaic’ tradition

Waterford City and County Council has voted to scrap an “archaic” tradition that dates back to the nineteenth century.

At the council’s plenary meeting for the month of September, Director of Services Ivan Grimes explained the concept of hereditary freedom.

Hereditary freedom refers to the passing down of the Freedom of Waterford from one generation of a family to another.

However, while the son, and even son-in-law, of a freeman of Waterford could claim hereditary freedom, a daughter could not.

In that context, Mr Grimes proposed abolishing the tradition of hereditary freedom altogether.

He stated: “It was agreed with the CPG (Corporate Policy Group) that on the basis that these are not granted equally to both males and females that Waterford City and County Council would cease the granting of hereditary freedoms.”

READ NEXT: Waterford boy qualifies for World Masters darts competition but needs your help with costs

At this stage, many councillors were left puzzled, having never heard of the concept of hereditary freedom before.

Fine Gael councillor Damien Geoghegan queried as to whether there were any hereditary freemen still alive today.

In response, Mr Grimes said that while there are people alive that could claim hereditary freedom, it is not something that has been implemented in the last 100 years.

Meanwhile, Independent councillor Joe Kelly asked whether the council considered changing the rules around hereditary freedom to include both males and females, rather than abolishing it altogether.

However, Mr Grimes said that this was never on the table because hereditary freedoms aren’t being granted anyway.

He commented: “Genuinely these types of freedoms have not been granted in well over a hundred years.

“The freedom that is granted in the current year is just freedom [...] that ceases when he or she ceases.

“This is really archaic stuff we’re talking about but we’re just trying to prevent the legacy of the one-gender only [rule], so it’s really about closing off an old system.”

When asked why this had come up as a matter of urgency, Mr Grimes said that someone had recently contacted the council looking to claim hereditary freedom.