Award the freedom of Dublin to Chelsea Manning

One day in 1948 Billy Fox, grandfather of U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning bid farewell to Rathmines Dublin and set off seeking work abroad. He settled in Haverfordwest, South Wales.

On May 17th Billy’s granddaughter Chelsea Manning will be released from Fort Leavenworth high-security prison, having spent almost a quarter of her life in jail.

Following former US President Barack Obama’s pardon, twenty-nine-year-old Chelsea will walk free having served seven years of the 35-year sentence imposed on her for telling the world the truth about US Army activities in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Nothing would be more fitting than for Dublin City Council to celebrate truth and moral courage by granting the Freedom of the City to Chelsea Manning. Her Welsh/Irish mother Susan, as well as her aunts and uncles, have been to Dublin several times, and Dublin musicians, performers and supporters have been to South Wales to express solidarity with the relatives of a true hero.

It is a golden opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Dublin’s global diaspora, and to honour a very special granddaughter of Dublin City in an age when the role of the whistleblower is more crucial than ever.
..........

On Saturday May 20th members of the Manning family will participate in the 30th annual Afri famine walk in Doolough, Co. Mayo. On Sunday from 5.30pm-8.30pm they will be guests of honour at the Celebrating Resistance event at the Teacher’s Club in Dublin.