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Wogan to get Limerick city honour
Broadcasting veteran Sir Terry Wogan will tonight be honoured with the Freedom of the City of Limerick.
The television and radio personality has travelled back to his home town to be bestowed with the award from the city fathers.
One of the country's leading portrait artists, Dr Tom Ryan, will also receive the accolade at a ceremony at Civic Hall.
With a successful career spanning over 40 years, Wogan has become one of the leading figures in British broadcasting. His BBC Radio 2 morning show, Wake up to Wogan , boasts the largest audience in Europe with nine million listeners.
The 68-year-old veteran is also known for his light-hearted commentary during the Eurovision Song Contest , and his fundraising skills for Children In Need .
Born in Limerick, Wogan and his family moved to Dublin when he was 15 and began his career in banking. In the early 1960s, he entered the world of broadcasting with RTÉ and gradually evolved into a newsreader, announcer and radio DJ before hosting a number of variety and quiz shows on the then new State broadcaster.
He later moved to the UK, securing a job with the BBC.
Dr Ryan, former President of the Royal Hibernian Academy, has painted taoisigh, presidents, cardinals and university chancellors, and has designed the former £1 coin and the current 50 cent coin.
Both men have already received Honorary Doctorates from the University of Limerick, and earlier this year Wogan received the Special Lifetime Achievement Award in Limerick.
A holder of dual Irish and British citizenship, the broadcaster was also awarded a knighthood in the British queen's birthday honours list in 2005.
PA
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