How many people are there in the Irish Diaspora? And could you be one of the millions eligible for an Irish passport? Find out about the diaspora and how to get your Irish passport.

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Does my diaspora look big in this? What’s a diaspora? How Irish am I? Can I get an Irish passport? Are there really 2 million people in Britain who could get one? And how many in America? And most importantly, what’s a plastic paddy?

Stick around and you’ll find out.

I’m Skatz, and I’m Irish, even though I don’t sound Irish. But I’ve got the passport so that’s all that matters. And there’s always room for one more.

I’m going to tell you what it means to me to be part of the Irish diaspora, how many of us there are in the world, and how you might be able to get an Irish passport and be a citizen like me! 

Let’s start with what’s the Irish diaspora?

The Irish diaspora is the name given to all of those Irish people who live outside of Ireland.

Does that mean real Irish people or just the ones who think they’re Irish? 

Officially, the Irish Government defines it as people who have Irish citizenship who are resident in another country.

And unofficially?

It’s everyone who’s known to have Irish ancestors. There could be over 80 million of those around the world, which is nearly 13 times the population of Ireland!

Is that why you can get a pint of Guinness anywhere?

Possibly, it would certainly explain it.

So how many people are officially part of the diaspora, and where do they all live?

There are over 3 million actual Irish citizens living outside of Ireland, half of them were born in Ireland, the other half became citizens. The place where the biggest number of Irish citizens live is, not surprisingly, Great Britain.

How many are there?

The most recent estimate was over 850,000, but there are also more than one and a half million people there who have an Irish parent or grandparent and could claim Irish Citizenship. There are quite large Irish populations in lots of British cities.

Is there a special relationship between the British and the Irish?

There was that incident with the famine of course, and the 800+ years of oppression that you’d only have heard about if you studied history in Ireland. It’s not really covered in the UK.

However, there’s such a deep connection between Britain & Ireland that, in spite of their history, and the sporting rivalries (especially with England!) there’s a huge amount of warmth and affection for each other, and it’s no surprise to know that there are more British citizens living in Ireland than any other nationality, and more Irish living in Britain too.

There are almost 2000 flights per week between Ireland & Britain.

Dublin to London is one of the busiest international air routes in the world.

There are over 50,000 Irish-born directors of British companies, more than any other nationality, and so many more genuine connections have been made that people are even making friends with Gingers.

I’d just like to add, I’m a third ginger with a ginger daughter, so I’m allowed to say that. 

Fortunately, Irish people are warm hearted, welcoming, self-deprecating, funny as feck, and universally loved, so they know it’s all good craic!

And they know I’m a bollox!

What about the American Irish?

Over 10% of the population of the United States claim they have Irish Heritage. 

Fortunately they can’t all apply for a passport at once, because they’re not all entitled to one. But there are at least 150,000 Americans who are.

DNA & Ethnicity

In some parts of Britain (like Scotland for example) the average Irish ethnicity, according to Ancestry DNA, is nearly 50%. The average over the whole of Great Britain is 20%, which just goes to show, we’re all mixed up in this together. We’re a mongrel nation!

Whether it’s through invasion or immigration, most of us have genes from all over the place. You might be surprised if you took a test.

And in Ireland, you’d be hard pushed to find someone whose DNA is 100% Irish.

Even in the southern provinces, the average is less than 75%. And you can’t just blame the English, although everyone might agree with you if you did!

So with Irish people emigrating over the centuries, there’s Irish DNA and strong Irish communities around the world.

There are populations in Argentina, Australia, Canada, they’re scattered everywhere. That’s what Diaspora means, it’s from the Greek word meaning to scatter.

Did you know that’s where I get my name from? I’m a Scatter-good. You could say I’m Mr Diaspora! So it’s no wonder they gave me an Irish passport.

How do you get an Irish passport?

Let’s put it in a very compact nutshell. To get an Irish passport, you must be an Irish citizen.

How do you become an Irish citizen?

If you were born on the island of Ireland, north or south, then you’re automatically an Irish citizen. With a few exceptions. There’s always an ‘It depends’!

All of the exceptions and the ‘it depends’ can be found in this article 

So then you just apply for a passport?

Yes! And the other way you’re automatically an Irish citizen is if one of your parents was Irish. You can apply for a passport too, with the proper proof of parentage like a birth certificate.

What if it’s one of my grandparents that was Irish?

In that case you’re not automatically Irish, but you can apply to be on the Foreign Births Register. 

How long does that take?

The latest cases have been taking about 7 months. Then once you get the certificate, you’re an Irish citizen and with all the documents that prove your family connection, you can apply for a passport.

Are there any other ways?

Just the one, with a bit of ‘it depends’!

Mostly you need to live in Ireland for at least 5 years, then apply for what’s called citizenship by naturalisation.

How long does that take?

Anything up to two years. But it’s worth it to become Irish, and then you can become part of the diaspora.

Are there any famous people with Irish roots?

Thousands!

Here’s a quick list.

David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, George Clooney, Mel Gibson, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brian, Bill Maher, the Oasis brothers, Paul Hogan, Matt Dillon, Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly, Harrison Ford,  Maureen O’Hara, Boy George, Johnny Rotten, Peter O’Toole, Anthony Quinn, John Wayne, Bruce Springsteen, JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, Saoirse Ronan, Spencer Tracy, it seems like everybody’s Irish!

Even Muhammed Ali’s grandfather was from County Clare.

Peace & Love to you all, whether you’re Irish or not. See you in the diaspora! 

Sláinte! Let’s Lord of the Dance!

Article by Skatz