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Emotional Irish citizenship ceremony marks major change in how new citizens sworn-in

Enda Kenny tells new Irish citizens to cherish their initiation ceremony

By
PATRICK COUNIHAN,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Friday, February 3, 2012, 7:52 AM
Updated Friday, February 3, 2012, 10:04 AM

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Enda Kenny tells new Irish citizens to cherish their initiation ceremony
Enda Kenny tells new Irish citizens to cherish their initiation ceremony
Photo by Google Images


Prime Minister Enda Kenny has welcomed his country’s newest citizens and told them to cherish the day they officially became Irish.

The government leader broke away from the financial crisis to officially launch the new initiation ceremony for citizens at Dublin’s Cathal Brugha barracks.

A total of 2,000 new Irish nationals received their official documentation – and a tricolour lapel badge – at the ceremonies.

The new procedure was inaugurated by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to add some pomp and ceremony to the occasion.

Previously those granted citizenship received their paperwork in a drab court house.

“This is a rare day and one you will remember and you will cherish,” Prime Minister Kenny told the new Irish citizens.

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Each immigrant swore a declaration to Irish then, collectively, they turned to face the flag as their new national anthem filled the air.

Retired judge Bryan McMahon presided over the ceremony and praised Justice Minister Shatter for overseeing the new procedures.

“I congratulate Minister Shatter for endowing this ceremony with a sense of pomp and a sense of occasion,” said McMahon.

He then urged the new Irish citizens to: “Bring with you your stories, your music, your dancers – the dances of your own native land. Enrich our lives with what you have to offer.

“I hope that, in the future, one of your children or grandchildren would be leading out a team on All-Ireland final day.”

Babies were then thrust into the arms of Prime Minister Kenny for photographs with the new Irishmen and women.

“It was a moving, meaningful and very touching ceremony,” concluded Kenny.

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See more: News from Ireland , Enda Kenny , Irish Government , Irish culture
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80 Comments

15 - 80 | See all comments

GeorgeDillon | Feb 06, 2012, 03:26 PM EST
curdexter: Give us the statistics about numbers of foreign children attending gaelscoileanna. You have a really stupid habit of making claims (such as "my grandma says...") without offering evidence. You posted some utter drivel about a group which used to exist, called iMeasc. You're so out of touch that you didn't know that the group hasn't been around for years. So give us your evidence on foreign children choosing Irish, or just shut up. On second thoughts, just shut up. You're a liar and a racist moron, you have nothing to contribute to a sensible discussion about Irish language policy.

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ciaradexy | Feb 06, 2012, 01:45 PM EST
Esat, youre right, it is taught badly. I only started to love the language once I started going to the gaeltacht. Galvin loves the language but as he said, the curriculum isnt flexible and its hard to make the language easier to learn. Your point on Irish being compulsory is true but my point was that migrants are sending their kids to the local Gaelscoil. This isnt compulsory, its a choice that they make for their kids and I respect that.

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esatdigiwank | Feb 06, 2012, 12:36 PM EST
Wonder how P. Galvin teaches the language. Likely murders the language in the classroom like our education system has been fond to do. Intricate grammar, pointless poetry, sentence construction during the early years of elementary like some of us here had to sit through. Invariably we end up loathing the language by the time we make it out of high school. A language not spoken is surely a dead language, and the teaching method was much different for European languages!. We are not tested on ability to speak Irish until we're well into adolescence by which time we've discovered other distractions! No attention is given to its phonetics! I don't think our Stateside friends have a handle on how school takes the joy out of Irish. Btw, Irish is wait for it a compulsory subject - migrants 'learn' it whether they like it or not. I'm incredulous that many willingly do so.

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 03:18 PM EST
Just watching an interview with Paul Galvin here. he said he found it very difficult to teach Irish even in Kerry as the kids just arent interested. Cant blame the migrants for that.

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 02:47 PM EST
Infairness Am, it makes sense to have these discussions with the natives on this site which a lot dont. Would you ask an American of Spanish decent who visited a few times about Spain or would you ask a Spaniard who was born, raised, who lived and worked all their life in Spain about the country? Seriously. People need to actually use their common sense on this site.

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AMWilson | Feb 05, 2012, 02:36 PM EST
Thanks, Ciara. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to talk about this from a native Irish perspective; it's really helped me to understand the other side of this debate.

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 02:23 PM EST
Very well put and well articulated post AM. Im just waiting for the backlash from our resident 'Oirish' supremacist, GD!

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 02:21 PM EST
Your last post George just shows that you actually dont understand peoples posts on here. My post proved that the Irish culture, Irish dancing for example is alive and well in and even outside of Ireland with people who have no links to Ireland! Its universal and inclusive not exclusive.

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AMWilson | Feb 05, 2012, 02:18 PM EST
My opinion on this, from a policy perspective, is that managing the survival (and hopefully resurgence) of Irish language and culture is all about managing public perceptions. No matter one's view on immigration, the undeniable truth is that the Irish themselves have dropped the ball, particularly with regard to the language, by failing to follow Wales' example in changing the public perception that the language wasn't "cool", and by failing to make it practical in daily life. I do believe that the scale of the current immigration/emigration situation is exacerbating this to some degree, but that situation is not ultimately to blame. As long as Ireland is part of the EU, they cannot and will not deport non-citizens en masse - which isn't the honorable course in any event - so the best course of action is to actively manage the perception that the language and culture are antiquated and irrelevant by, for example, promoting positive propaganda that makes a big deal of immigrants who have become fluent in the language. The government needs to stop openly encouraging immigrants to "bring your dances", and start encouraging intigration and assimilation into Irish culture: not by ramming it down people's throats, but by creating an atmosphere in which Irish culture - particularly folk culture - is seen as highly relevant to life in Ireland... to both immigrants AND natives. I think that starts with abandoning the Plastic Ireland image that caters to dimwitted tourists: that "Ireland" that I'm sure makes natives almost ashamed at times to admit that they're Irish. If only if it was that simple...

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 05, 2012, 02:07 PM EST
curdexter--"kicking people out because they arent Irish enough"--You stupid oaf, you're talking about children in Russia and elsewhere doing Irish dancing. So where the hell are they going to be kicked out of, you utter amadan?

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AMWilson | Feb 05, 2012, 02:01 PM EST
George, I'm just going to disregard your rant. I will continue to agree with your position on many issues, and I will continue to disagree with the way you carry yourself on this site. Although I have my own beliefs and opinions, I do not suffer from "confirmation bias", and I actively seek out opposing views as a check on the validity of my own. I know we're in the great US of A, George, but in a lot of coutries, they still call this approach WISE.

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 01:12 PM EST
Wow even my spelling is suffering from posting in response to you! You give off really mad vibes! As Damien Dempsey sang ''Im never gonna let, your negative vibes and comments get through to my psyche''!

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 01:11 PM EST
George, you represent America! Sirpete, Kinvara and I ARE Irish, borned ,rasied and living in Ireland! Youre a yank! EU=OPEN BORDERS!!

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 05, 2012, 01:00 PM EST
The racist posters here-curdexter, sirpeter aka kinvara--try to give American readers the impression that they represent the majority of Irish people. But of course they don't--there is no evidence whatsoever that the Irish people assent or have ever assented to the mass settlement of their country by foreigners. I could spend all day citing Irish people who try to break thru the iron censorship that the state and media in Ireland impose on this topic. I don't have the time, but here's a quick quote from something I was just reading:----"even in the midst of a nation-wrecking depression, an island with a population half the size of London continues to issue tens of thousands of PPS (i.e SocSec--GD) numbers to foreign nationals. How many jobs were created in Ireland last year? Very, very few, no doubt. What proportion of those new jobs have gone to immigrants instead of to Irish workers? A very high percentage, by any chance? This is a crime being commited against our workforce. The useful idiots who are defending the employers as they mercilessly undermine Irish wages at every opportunity, should frankly be ashamed of themselves." Well said, my fellow Irish person and progressive.

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ciaradexy | Feb 05, 2012, 12:44 PM EST
Ah the aul insults are back! The last refuge of the idiot! No facts or figures, you cant respond to any of the issues raised and youre speaking as an American who has visited Ireland a few times and think you know more about here than people who have lived here all their lives. sad.

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