Citizen Ring

Dublin Lord Mayor and DCU graduate Nial Ring is tapping into his republican heritage during his term as the city’s First Citizen, writes Róisín O’Hara

“IT’S Nial, with one “l,” he replies when I query his first name. “My dad told me that it as an ancient Celtic spelling so I have to live with that”, Nial Ring, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, adds jokingly.

This influence his father had on him, though, was profound. “Indeed the whole family was a huge influence”, he says.  “My grandfather and his four brothers were involved in the 1916 Rising and fought in the 2nd Battalion under Comdt. Thomas MacDonagh. They also were involved in combat in the Battle of Annesley Bridge in Fairview.  I would have heard all the stories growing up in Ballybough which had a great republican tradition – Harry Colley, Seán Lemass, Seán T Ó Ceallaigh and Oscar Traynor were among the men who grew up and lived in the area.

“My grand-uncle,  Liam Ring, one of the 5 five involved in 1916, translated The Soldier's Song into Irish – that’s a great source of pride to me.  Apart from being a great enthusiast for the Irish language, Liam spoke ten languages altogether.”

Unsurprisingly, this republican heritage left him with something of an anti-British frame of mind but his attitude has softened in recent years.

“My family background influenced my republican leanings for sure,” he says, “and I would have been opposed to Queen Elizabeth II visiting this country. But I have to say, my view was changed after I saw her make that massive gesture in the Garden of Remembrance. By laying that wreath and bowing her head in that way, she acknowledged all those who fought for freedom against her country’s occupation of Ireland.

Nial Ring also has a distinctive association with DCU. “I was working in AIB in the early 1980s and got a scholarship to study accounting in DCU, or NIHE as it was then. In 1983, I was in the first ever class to graduate and because I came second in my class, I was actually the second student to graduate from the college. I was the first member of my family to graduate from college. I am proud of that, I must say.”

DCU was a major influence in his life in more ways than one. It is where he met his wife, Joyce, who was doing Business Studies. 

He is a great believer in the role that education can play in opening opportunities for people – particularly those in less privileged areas like where he grew up.   During his time in the Mansion House, he is determined to make the office of Lord Mayor more accessible to the citizens of the city. 

He has opened a sensory room for children with autism in the Mansion House which also hosts a 12-week programme for senior citizens.  He has reached out to homeless people, visiting accommodation hubs to emphasise “their equal value as citizens”.   

In January,  when the 100th anniversary of the meeting of the first Dáil is commemorated, he opened up the Mansion House to the city’s citizens.

“ I am acutely aware of what it means to have doors open up for people,” he explains.  “ People opened doors for me and I am determined to open doors for those who are marginalised in our society as well as every citizen of this great City of which I am privileged to be First citizen.