Ceremony coincides with annual celebration of the first hoisting of the tricolour by Thomas Francis Meagher in Waterford in 1848
New citizens originate from 50 countries, including 119 from Poland and 116 from UK
Approximately 650 new Irish citizens, originating from 50 countries, will receive their certificates of naturalisation at a Citizenship Ceremony at WIT Arena in Waterford this morning at 11.30am. The new citizens will be congratulated by John Halligan TD, Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development. The event is being held in Waterford in order to coincide with the annual 1848 Tricolour Celebration, which celebrates the first hoisting of the tricolour by Thomas Francis Meagher in Waterford in 1848.
Addressing the new citizens, Minister Halligan will say:
It is entirely appropriate that this citizenship ceremony should take place in Waterford, where the first tricolour in Ireland was flown at 33 The Mall by Thomas Francis Meagher on 7 March 1848. Meagher said that his most poignant memory of Ireland was seeing famine ships leave the quay in Waterford. I am sure the significance would not be lost on him of this ceremony today where we are welcoming migrants into Ireland to become citizens.
The Presiding Officer at the ceremony will be Retired High Court Judge Bryan McMahon who will administer the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State.
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 141 ceremonies with people from over 180 countries receiving their certificates of naturalisation. To date, including minors, approximately 120,000 people have received Irish citizenship since 2011.
Details of future ceremonies and the process for applying for citizenship are placed on www.inis.gov.ie .
Notes for Editors:
The annual 1848 Tricolour Celebration will take place in Waterford from 28-30 June. The event will now be held annually on the weekend nearest to 1 July, which marks the death of Thomas Francis Meagher. Further details of this year’s ceremony are available at http://www.1848tricolour.com/ .
June ceremony statistics
667 people have been invited to today’s ceremony, 357 female (54%) & 310 male (46%).
The top 10 nationalities of origin of those receiving citizenship today are as follows:
Poland 119
United Kingdom 116
Romania 62
India 44
Nigeria 32
Latvia 25
Brazil 20
China (Including Hong Kong) 15
Hungary 15
South Africa 13