Citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in 2011 by then minister for justice Alan Shatter to mark the solemnity and dignity of the occasion. Our pictures show some of the 5,200 people who were granted citizenship over two days at the events centre at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney earlier this month. Software engineer Varun Menon agreed he had his priorities right: he was becoming a citizen of Cork and joked he felt more Cork than Irish. People born in India were the single largest group taking Irish citizenship this December. Fossum said becoming an Irish citizen undoubtedly would make life easier as she travels a lot to Europe in the course of her work.

Source: The Irish Times December 20, 2025 18:01 UTC