THE PROSPECT of grazing his sheep on the Wicklow hills is not open to actor Daniel Day-Lewis, despite being conferred with the first freedom of Co Wicklow.
The freedom of Dublin famously granted U2 members the right to graze sheep in places such as St Stephen’s Green, but Wicklow county manager Eddie Sheehy said this perk did not come with the freedom of Co Wicklow.
The Oscar-winning actor did not appear unduly upset by this as he gathered with his wife Rebecca Miller, family and friends in Rathnew yesterday to receive the honour from Wicklow County Council. He said he had helped himself “very cheekily” to the freedom of Wicklow for many years without asking anyone.
Wicklow was his refuge and his haven from the world and he was “let live here”, he said.
“Living here for the past 15 years, there has been complete harmony in my life. I have been completely absorbed into the nobility of the Wicklow hills around me. This is the place that sustains me. This is where I have planted myself. It is a refuge where I restore myself.”
Film director and fellow Wicklow resident John Boorman sent Day-Lewis a message saying: “When they bestowed this well-earned honour, did they realise how much Wicklow freedom you already possessed – biking the ring of the Sally Gap, running in the hills of Glendalough, the woods, the streams, the sandy strands, the dreaming landscape of our spiritual home?
“This Wicklow freedom, I hope, helps to make up for the loss of freedom that is the price of being a movie star.”
Day-Lewis has starred in films including My Left Foot, for which he won his first best actor Oscar, There Will Be Blood, winning his second best actor Oscar, Gangs of New Yorkand In the Name of the Father.
Wicklow County Council cathaoirleach Derek Mitchell, said the honour was being bestowed on the actor “to pay tribute to his remarkable contribution and outstanding achievements in the international film industry and in so doing bringing honour to the county”.
Mr Mitchell said the actor had come a long way from his first film role: an uncredited part in Sunday Bloody Sunday when he was 14 years old.
Day-Lewis celebrates his 52nd birthday tomorrow and was treated to a rendition of Happy Birthday from a crowd that included producer Noel Pearson, U2 manager Paul McGuinness, costume designer Joan Bergin and producer Morgan O’Sullivan.
He was also presented with an artwork entitled The Sun Disc, created by local artist and goldsmith Brian Hackett.
