For the first time more Irish Passports issued in Northern Ireland than UK ones…

New UK passport

Brian Hutton at the Irish Times has been doing some digging about the changing nature of passports in Northern Ireland. From his article: The number of Irish passports being issued in the North has surpassed their UK counterparts for the first time on record, newly obtained figures reveal. Her Majesty’s Passport Office in London has confirmed 48,555 citizens in Northern Ireland applied for a UK passport in 2020 – at least 356 fewer than those who opted for an Irish …

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A Passport to Nationalist Insurrection?

I recently discovered Jamie Bryson, and as with the discovery of any hidden gem, I’ll confess I’m rapt. It’s not yet clear to me whether Jamie believes everything he says or whether he’s simply realised that hyperbole is a sure fire path to notoriety. But after his latest offering, I’d have to say the balance of opinion has to come down to the latter view. In my dalliance with Jamie’s pontification on all matters unionist, nationalist and fantasist, it is …

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The citizenship test: Protestants as well as Catholics in favour of fee waiver?

In Northern Ireland we have the unique situation where we can claim dual nationality. The bulk of the population is split between those who claim Irish citizenship and those who claim British citizenship. Following the news that sixth form pupils in the UK who hold Irish passports qualify for free university tuition in Scotland, the question arises whether the passport that a person from Northern Ireland holds, is the definitive mark of their nationality. It was originally believed that students …

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