Merlin Holland is applying for an Irish passport using his grandfather’s legacy
Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde’s only grandson, is using his grandfather’s legacy to apply for an Irish passport in the wake of Brexit.
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Sebastian Shakespeare, writing for The Daily Mail, spoke with Holland, 73, regarding the matter.
Holland is the only grandson of famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde and has been living in France for the past 15 years but has only ever had a British passport.
Holland told Shakespeare: “I then realized that I could probably qualify for foreign birth registration as my grandfather was born in Ireland.”
“I have now received my passport so the French can’t throw me out after Brexit and my wife will be able to travel to the UK, where she likes to have her hair cut.”
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Wilde’s grandson further explained that the Irish government “had agreed to pay 50,000 Euros to clean up Wilde’s tomb in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris and encase it in expensive protective glass.”
“So even though the passport will help me to remain in France and move freely to other countries, it is also a thank-you gesture to the Irish.”
Read More: Irish passport office swamped by Brexit as one million seek citizenship
“Even though I have found grandfather exasperating at times,” says Holland, “it is nice to discover he has been able to help me 119 years after his death.”
Do you live abroad but have an Irish passport? Let us know in the comments!
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