THOUSANDS OF NEW citizens have been conferred with citizenship in Killarney on Monday – among them the Edge of U2, David Howell Evans, 63.

Born in Essex, the child of Welsh parents has lived in Ireland since he was one-year-old.

Sitting at the edge of the row at the second ceremony, sporting a tricolour clip on his lapel, and wearing his distinctive cap, the famous guitarist appeared to enjoy every moment.

He smiled throughout and shook hands with his neighbours front and back after the oath of allegiance.

Becoming an Irish citizen could not have been more meaningful than the present time, he said.

Speaking briefly to reporters afterwards, he described becoming an Irish citizen with so many others as “for all of us a monumental day for all of us”.

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“I guess, you know, I’m a little tardy with the paper work.I’ve been living in Ireland now since I was one-year-old. But the time is right. And I couldn’t be more proud of my country for all that it represents and all that it is doing.

“It’s showing real leadership right now in the world and it couldn’t come at a better moment for me so I am just so happy to be at this point to be in even deeper connection with my homeland.”

Howell Evans said application didn’t take that long and was quite straightforward.

“A couple of years to deal with all the ins and outs. But it was actually quite straight forward,” he said.

“Honestly there were many moments in the past when I could have done it with just the form to be filled out but I’m happy it’s now. It feels more significant, it feels more meaningful,” he said, then clarifying his statement, saying: 

“Because of what is going on in the world right now. What Ireland stands for, it’s very powerful. We are talking really about showing leadership in the world, supporting our international bodies, the ICC, UN, speaking truth to power. Really important what Ireland is representing right now.”

Asked if Ireland could do more, he said, “Can it do more? I think it’s doing a lot. I’m not sure there is much more it could do more to be honest,” he said.

Applicants from over 143 countries and across all 32 counties on the island numbering 7,500 are making the declaration of fidelity and loyalty to the State and become Irish citizens.

Over seven ceremonies held over two days, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan will be joined by Minister of State with responsibility for Migration, Colm Brophy, and Minister of State with responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice, Niall Collins.

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Speaking at the ceremonies on Monday, Minister O’Callaghan said it was a special and important occasion in Killarney and he congratulated everyone.

“It is a great privilege to become a citizen of this country and obviously with it comes responsibilities and duties and I think everyone who is taking on citizenship will be aware of that,” O’Callaghan said.

He hoped its newest citizens they would embrace “the full freedom and opportunities Ireland has to offer you.”

Gina London, a White House correspondent during the Clinton presidency, was among 224 citizens from the USA receiving citizenship at the first ceremony.

In Ireland with ten years now, Gina, originally from Indiana, dressed in green, said she became emotional and she and the woman alongside her were both in tears during the ceremony.

“I am thrilled. This is for me, “ she said.

The Emmy winning former CNN correspondent and anchor, and now a communications consultant, had moved for her daughter.

She had wanted her daughter Lulú, who is now aged 17, to have a great place to grow up and go to school.

Gina said she was “completely happy” with her decision. On Monday, she was nervous about what would happen in the US with the bombing of Iran.

Alongside her at the ceremony was Monika Braja-Matuszewska who works in Lidl in Port Laoise. In Ireland with ten years, her husband Míhal, also from Poland had received his citizenship last September.

“We are both Irish now,” a delighted Monika said.

Aarushi Sharma from New Delhi in India was had come to Ireland as a student to complete her master’s degree in finance in 2018 and stayed. Now working in a finance corporation in Dublin, she loved Ireland and it had been home to her from the start.

The amazing nature here and its people were among the things that attracted her – along with her husband, Divyang Jain. From a neighbouring street in New Delhi he had moved here in 2017 to work in It as most of the major IT companies were here.

The couple married last year, and had two weddings, one in Dublin and one in New Delhi. He received his citizenship last year.

More than 20 meat workers from Brazil who arrived in Ireland nearly two decades ago, were also among thousands of people becoming new citizens of Ireland.

Presiding Officer at the ceremonies, Judge Paddy McMahon, administered the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State. The new Irish citizens will undertake to faithfully observe the laws of the State and to respect its democratic values.

In just over two years the Citizenship Division of the Department has gone from processing around 12,000 applications a year to processing over 20,000 applications in 2023, and nearly 31,000 in 2024, the Department of Justice said.

Significant changes have been introduced in the Citizenship Division of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to speed up the application process for applicants, including the introduction of an online digital application, online payments, and eVetting.

As a result, processing times are now decreasing year on year. The length of time it takes to process an application has dropped from 15 months in 2023 to 8 months in 2024.

It is expected that going forward, the vast majority of applicants will continue to receive a decision within one year, however, it is important to note that no two naturalisation applications are the same and some take longer than others to process. 

Since citizenship ceremonies were first introduced in 2011, there has been a total of 210 ceremonies (including the upcoming dates) with people from over 180 countries receiving their certificates of naturalisation.

To date, including minors, approximately 206,400 people have received Irish citizenship since 2011. Following the Killarney ceremonies this week over 7,500 will be added to this figure.