Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council have posthumously granted the Freedom of the City and District to NHS nurse and Strabane man Pat McManus, who tragically died of Covid19 in 2020.
The proposal to confer the Freedom of the Derry City and Strabane District was prompted by a notice of motion brought before Council in June 2020, with plans being delayed due to Covid restrictions.
The Freedom of the City and District honour was granted following two special hybrid meetings that were held consecutively yesterday to admit Mr McManus as a Freeman of the City and District.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Alderman Graham Warke paid tribute to Pat McManus’s selfless dedication to the wellbeing of others and said he hoped the Freedom of the City and District honour would give some comfort to his family and friends.
There was widespread sadness and grief across the City and District when news of Mr McManus’s death broke in his home town of Strabane in 2020.
The 60-year-old had continued in his role as a frontline care worker in England, despite suffering from multiple sclerosis, making him vulnerable to the virus.
Although he had been offered a managerial role to limit his contact with patients, he opted to continue in the caring role which had been his lifelong vocation.
Representatives from Pat McManus’s family were in attendance at the meeting followed by a Mayoral reception afterwards in the Guildhall’s Main Hall.
