6,000 successful applicants have been invited to receive Irish citizenship across six separate ceremonies in the Convention Centre in Dublin between December 18 and 19.
On Monday, Ireland's Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD welcomed the granting of Irish citizenship to 6,000 new Irish citizens in the ceremonies being held this week.
The ceremonies will see applicants from 131 countries around the world and living in all 32 counties on the island of Ireland being conferred as Irish citizens.
Minister McEntee attended the citizenship ceremonies on Monday, while Minister of State James Browne will attend on Tuesday.
🎵 Fáilte romhat chuig searmanas na maidine! Ag prapáil chun ár saoránaigh nua go léir, #saoránaighÉireannacha2023 ☘️ pic.twitter.com/md05sVgFQd
— Department of Justice 🇮🇪 (@DeptJusticeIRL) December 18, 2023
Speaking on Monday, Minister McEntee said: “Attending Citizenship Ceremonies is always a unique privilege as Minister for Justice and I would like to warmly congratulate and welcome our newest citizens on this milestone day in their lives.
"Today marks the end of one journey and the beginning of an exciting new one for them.
"Our new citizens enrich Ireland with their presence and our society reaps the benefits which they bring.”
Minister of State James Browne said: “I want to acknowledge the value and necessity of immigration to support Ireland’s society and economy.
"As a nation that over centuries saw so many Irish people emigrate to find safety or work, the Irish people understand what it means to be a migrant, to seek a safe haven, to lay roots and to find a new home.”
☘️ Lá fíor speisialta é don oiread sin daoine a gheobhaidh saoránacht Eireannach inniu ☘️
Congratulations to all those who received their citizenship today #SaoránachÉireannach2023 #IrishCitizens2023 pic.twitter.com/FCjY0Cd78O
— Department of Justice 🇮🇪 (@DeptJusticeIRL) December 18, 2023
Retired Judge Mary Irvine served as the Presiding Officer at Monday's ceremony, while retired Judge Paddy McMahon will serve on Tuesday. They will administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State.
As part of the ceremonies, the new Irish citizens undertook to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.
This week's Irish citizenship ceremonies in Dublin follow ceremonies held in Dublin's RDS in March, Killarney in July, and the Dublin Convention Centre in October.
This means that over 18,000 people have now been conferred with citizenship this year, according to Ireland's Department of Justice on Monday.
Among those receiving their Irish citizenship in Dublin on Monday was Jamison Gibson-Park, a native of New Zealand who is a professional rugby player for Ireland.
☘️ Congratulations to @IrishRugby & @leinsterrugby scrumhalf @JamisonGPark who received his Irish Citizenship today 👏 #SaoránachÉireannach2023 #IrishCitizens2023 💪 pic.twitter.com/ENVcfTQVmT
— Department of Justice 🇮🇪 (@DeptJusticeIRL) December 18, 2023
Also receiving her Irish citizenship was Raneem, a native of Syria, whose daughter Serene went viral back in 2018 for showing off her Irish language skills after being in school in Ireland for only two months.
“I was so excited to hear her speak in Irish because languages are so important," Raneem told the Irish Times in 2018.
“You become a different person in each language, I really believe that. In order for her to integrate into this society I think it’s important for her to learn Irish.”
Today ... after my sister got her Irish citizenship.. I remembered this beautiful video of my sister's daughter ..my niece .. Serene 🇮🇪♥️ https://t.co/sUOynI0JCb
— Razan Ibraheem (رزان) (@RazanIRL) December 18, 2023
Ireland's citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in 2011 in order to mark the occasion of the granting of citizenship in a dignified and solemn manner. Since Citizenship Ceremonies were first introduced, there has been a total of 173 ceremonies (inclusive) with people from over 180 countries receiving their certificates of naturalization.
To date, approximately 173,000 people have received Irish citizenship since 2011.
The figure of 173,000 includes the attendees at the December ceremonies and applicants who received citizenship via the Declaration process introduced in response to the COVID pandemic, as well as minors who are not required to attend a ceremony.
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