I’ve written a fair bit about my application for Irish Citizenship over the last couple of years, but I only just got confirmation that it’s finally going to happen.
I sent in my application in March 2018, about 20 months ago, and this week I received my invitation to my Citizenship Ceremony taking place in the Killarney Convention Centre (INEC) on Monday 9th December.
And so in 10 days’ time I’ll officially be an Irish Citizen, and still a British Citizen, as both countries allow people to maintain dual citizenship – and I’ll be able to apply for an Irish passport.
It was in 2007 that I arrived to live and work in Dublin, and in 2013 that I married my Irish wife, and over that time Ireland has definitely become my home. I have no desire to ever move back to live in the UK, particularly with all the Brexit nonsense going on, so I’m glad that I can feel fully settled here as one of its citizens.
The ceremony
Attendance at a citizenship ceremony is mandatory for all adults receiving citizenship through naturalisation.
They take place several times a year, and since 2018 they have been hosted in Killarney. Often there are three different ceremonies during the during the day, welcoming around 1,000 new Irish citizens in each ceremony.
The drive to Killarney is around 4 hours each way from Dublin, so we’re planning to drive down the day before and stay in a hotel overnight in order to share out the driving over two days.
When I register on the day I’ll be given my Certificate of Naturalisation, and then during the ceremony I’ll join the others there in making a declaration of fidelity to the Irish nation and loyalty to the State. And at that point I’ll officially be Irish!