By Amanda Uwase.
Irish Citizenship Ceremony sees over 5,000 people become Citizens in Kerry.
The six ceremonies took place on the 1st and 2nd of December at the INEC in Killarney, Co. Kerry, welcoming applicants from countries across the globe. These ceremonies take place four times a year, with each applicant paying €950 before waiting for an invitation letter, a reminder of Ireland’s continued commitment to offering people a path to citizenship.
Becoming an Irish citizen through naturalisation is easier said than done and requires patience. For adults, it entails having lived in Ireland for five years of “reckonable” residence, usually four years within the previous eight, followed by a continuous final year.
Applicants also need to be of good character, intend to remain in the country, and participate in a formal citizenship ceremony in which they declare loyalty to the State. For children, the process is simpler, as citizenship can be granted automatically once a parent has completed the process.
Throwback to the 2014 Ceremony in the Convention Centre, Dublin. My father, Manasse Niykora, became an Irish citizen on the 4th of July, 2014. He was thrilled on the day, and I was just as excited to be there with him.
At 12, I didn’t grasp the significance; I was more delighted to be at a fancy ceremony. I had no idea it marked the start of summer holidays abroad like my classmates always talked about.
After only ever travelling to Burundi two years prior, the thought of finally visiting London felt surreal.
Picture of my father signing in at the ceremony in 2014
My dad told me he was relieved to travel without stress, no more visa applications or tense moments at immigration with a non-EU passport.
He said he felt proud, accepted, and finally claimed by the country he had called home for over a decade. “I felt like they no longer had the power to send me back,” he told me.
Coming from Burundi, that feeling of safety meant everything, and I was also naturalised that day without fully realising it.
As of 2025, the Irish passport is considered the strongest globally and at the time, both my father and I held one.
Picture of Myself (right) and Father after the Ceremony
The ceremony changed more than just our paperwork; it opened doors to freedom, travel, access to work, and the ability to vote as a citizen of Ireland.
Ireland is all I’ve ever known as home, and for the 5,200 people becoming Irish citizens this week, they too have joined the wider Irish family, the land of a thousand welcomes.
They’ve been welcomed to live here, and now, they’re welcome to stay.
Image Credits: RTE