Brexit vote sparked surge in Irish passports issued in Great Britain

The number of Irish passports issued in Great Britain rocketed in the years following the Brexit referendum, according to figures.

The data emerged as it was revealed that the celebrated British author John le Carré went to his grave as an Irish citizen.

Data issued by Ireland’s foreign minister, Simon Coveney, shows just over 422,000 passport applications were made in Great Britain in the years 2016 to 2020.

In the years 2017 to 2020, 358,900 passports were issued, compared with 63,500 in 2016, the year of the poll on the UK’s departure from the EU.

The surge in passport applications was most marked in 2019 when 120,800 were issued by the London embassy, double that of 2016 alone.

The figures do not include numbers for Northern Ireland, where all citizens are entitled to dual British and Irish nationality under the Good Friday agreement.

Main Photo: EPA/AIDAN CRAWLEY

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