Social Affairs

First in-person citizenship ceremonies since Covid welcome 950 new Irish citizens

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee tells participants at Inec Arena in Killarney, Co Kerry ‘you will always have a home here’

Film producer and environmentalist David Puttnam and his wife, Patsy, after receiving their Irish citizenship at the Gleneagle INEC Arena in Killarney, Co Kerry on Monday. Photograph: Sally MacMonagle

Anne Lucey
Mon Jun 20 2022 - 21:21

A total of 950 people from 92 countries became Irish citizens on Monday as in-person citizenship ceremonies were held for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“You will always, always have a home here,” Minister for Justice Helen McEntee told the participants at the Inec Arena in Killarney, Co Kerry. “And you are a citizen of the EU, something I think is extremely important.”

The Minister said Ireland was celebrating a decade of centenaries and that in the 100 years since the birth of the nation, a lot of people had left due to economic downturns, to pursue work or study opportunities or “to find love”.

“We do understand the life of an emigrant and we are often called a nation of emigrants,” she added.

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Ms McEntee said that while Ireland was not perfect, it was “an inclusive and progressive society” and that she was “so, so pleased” to see that so many people had chosen the country as their home. She said it was important that new citizens did not feel pressure to leave their own cultures behind and rather should seek to add their cultures to Irish traditions as “the next chapter” is written in the story of Ireland.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, the Minister said there were no plans being worked on to ask future applicants to take a language test before being granted citizenship, as is the case in some other countries. She said such plans had been considered but were then shelved because “both Irish and English are official languages” in the State.

Retired judge Paddy McMahon, who administered the oath of loyalty at the morning ceremony, referred to how former president Erskine Childers was a naturalised Irish citizen and said the new citizens could now seek to become president, an Oireachtas member or to join the Army.

“Carpe diem,” Judge McMahon said. “As new citizens, you have the opportunity to seize the day.”

Retired High Court judge Mr Justice Bryan McMahon officiated at the afternoon ceremony.

In keeping with the years since the UK voted to leave the European Union, British people accounted for the highest proportion of the new Irish citizens at 111, followed by India (97) and Romania (77).

Irene Zolfo, an administrator originally from Palermo in Italy, said she felt like she was being “adopted” by Ireland and that gaining citizenship meant a lot to her.

“I have lived here for so many years,” she said, adding that her eight-year-old daughter Sofia “has a disability and this is the best place she could be”. Sophia is an Irish citizen as she was born in Dublin.

Dulajano Mavankovic, originally from Croatia, where he worked as a journalist with state TV and a signal man in the army, came to Cork to work for an IT company in 2014. He applied for citizenship in 2020.

“It’s a state of accomplishment,” he said of his new status, adding that the Croatian community was growing in the southwest.

Another applicant was Radu, who is originally from Bucharest in Romania. He and his wife, Claire, a native of Galway, are expecting their first child in September.

“I managed to beat him to citizenship,” he joked. “The Irish are pretty welcoming but this makes me more welcome.”

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