Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan is to be awarded the Freedom of Waterford at a ceremony next week.
The 77-year-old native of Waterford scored six UK number one hits and sixteen Top 40 singles over the course of his career.
He is best known for songs such as ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’, ‘Get Down’ and ‘Clair’.
A proposal to award the musician the Freedom of Waterford by Fine Gael councillor Lola O’Sullivan was unanimously endorsed at the December 2023 Plenary Council meeting of Waterford city and county council.
The three-time Ivor Novello award winner will have the honoured bestowed on him next Wednesday (March 27th) at 6.30pm in the Council Chamber in City Hall in Waterford.
Meanwhile, last December Mr O’Sullivan told RTÉ radio's Liveline that the decision to award him the Freedom of Waterford was an “honour and a nice surprise”.
The singer, who lives in Jersey in the Channel Islands, said that his family were very excited about the accolade.
He told Joe Duffy that his father worked at Clover Meats in Waterford whilst his mother ran a sweet shop. The couple met in Ferrybank in Waterford.
Mr O’Sullivan said that it was “always a thrill” to come back to Ireland, whether to perform or to sightsee.
He was born Raymond Edward O’Sullivan. One of six siblings, he was seven when his family relocated to Swindon in the UK. He lost his father to cancer when he was twelve.
His career has spanned fifty years. Mr O’ Sullivan’s first single ‘Nothing Rhymed’ was released in 1970 and achieved Top 10 status in the UK and European charts.
In 1972, his song ‘Alone Again (Naturally)’ topped the US charts for six weeks and earned him three Grammy nominations.
In recent times, O’Sullivan has performed alongside other artists at BBC Proms in the Park.
He has also made three appearances at Glastonbury, including the main stage, and toured extensively throughout the UK, Ireland, Europe, Japan and Australia.
