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Nelson Mandela held a unique place in the heart of this nation and made three historic visits to Ireland which reinforced this special bond.

The relationship began in 1988 when he was given the Freedom of the City in Dublin as he led his fight for freedom from his prison cell.

The inspirational leader was unable to accept the honour in person so he sent his wife Winnie in his place.

But ever resourceful, Mandela managed to get a message to Dublin through his lawyer to express his thanks where he described the Irish as “the original freedom fighters.”

On February 11th 1990, families all over the country gathered around their television sets to watch the historic moment when Mandela finally walked free from prison after 27 years.

Tears were shed the length and breadth of Ireland and there was huge celebration to mark the historic moment.

Shortly after his release, the legend made his first trip to Ireland in 1990 where he was mobbed by crowds of well-wishers who jostled to catch sight of their hero.

During a speech to the Dail, he singled out the brave Dunnes Stores workers who went on strike demanding an end to apartheid in South Africa.

He said: “Your country has had one of the most energetic and effective anti-apartheid movements in the world.

“Irishmen and women have given wholehearted and often sacrificial support for our struggle in the fields of economic, cultural and sports relations.

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“We, therefore, salute your sportspeople, especially the rugby players, your writers and artists and the Dunnes’ and other workers. They will not be forgotten by the masses of our people.”

He returned in 1998, where he was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Laws from Trinity College Dublin.

During that speech, he urged Ireland to take “bold action” to find lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

He was back in Ireland for the opening ceremony of the 2003 Special Olympics, where there was a spine-tingling moment as he was led onstage by Bono to the electrifying sound of U2’s Pride -written for another civil rights hero Martin Luther King.

It was fitting that he was led on stage by Bono who was one of his closest friends.

The U2 singer paid an emotional tribute to his mentor last night saying “he has been a forceful presence in my life going back to 1979.”

The Dublin singer said he was “mesmerised” by Mandela’s deft maneuvering as leader of South Africa and how he fought for “the dignity of the poorest peoples on the planet.”

He said: “Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.”

“It certainly fell to Mandela to be great.

"His role in the movement against extreme poverty was critical.

“He was also a hardheaded realist, as his economic policy demonstrated. To him, principles and pragmatism were not foes; they went hand in hand.

“He was an idealist without naiveté, a compromiser without being compromised.”