If you have secured an Irish passport recently for the first time, you are in esteemed company. Comedian Steve Coogan and actor Bill Nighy have joined former film producer David Puttnam, singer Mick Hucknall and the late writer Hilary Mantel in securing an Irish passport in the wake of Brexit.
Nighy thanked Ireland as he accepted an award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in London in February. “I’d like just to say, because I forgot to say this the other day, I’m officially Irish, so let’s get that straight,” he said. “I became officially Irish when the disaster of Brexit happened, I remain in Europe. Thank you, Ireland.”
Coogan revealed on an episode of Jarlath Regan’s Irishman Abroad podcast that he’d received his passport in late February, while Puttnam became an Irish citizen at a ceremony in Kerry last year.
In all, 1,191 British people were granted Irish citizenship in 2021. This compares with 54 in 2015, according to figures from the Department of Justice – a 1,200 per cent increase. Meanwhile, the number of Irish passports being issued in the North surpassed the number of British passports for the first time on record last year.
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We’d like to hear from some of those who own these new passports.
Perhaps you applied for an Irish passport as a result of Brexit, or for other reasons entirely?
What does the document mean to you, and how would you now describe your relationship with Ireland?
Has having an Irish passport changed your view of Ireland or your sense of identity?
Is it purely a means to avoid long airport queues, or does it have a deeper meaning?
Please tell us about it. Some of the submissions may be published. Thank you.