Angry British, Americans seek exit through Ireland

Mark O'Neill February 28, 2025 17:57

In 1841, the population of Ireland was 8.18 million. Last year it was 7.2 million, including the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that is part of the United Kingdom. It is one of the few countries in the world with a decline in population over the last two centuries.

The reasons for the decline were famine, poverty and emigration due to a lack of employment. The two most popular destinations for the migrants were Britain and the United States.

But now history is turning on its head. Thousands of British and American people of Irish ancestry are applying for an Irish passport. The Irish constitution allows a person with one Irish national grandparent born in Ireland to apply for citizenship. Few countries in the world are so generous.

In 2024, 23,456 British people applied for an Irish passport, up 15 per cent over 2023 and a record since digital records began in 2013. In 2024, the number of applications from North America was 13,055, up from 8,900 in 2023, with a surge after the election of Donald Trump as president in November.

For the British, the main driver is their country’s decision to leave the European Union in 2016. This removed their right to work, travel and retire anywhere in the 27 countries of the Union. Along with Denmark, both Britain and Ireland joined the EU on the same day – January 1, 1973.

On June 23, 2016, 51.89 per cent of British people voted to leave the EU. Ireland, on the other hand, has always been an enthusiastic member. With Poland, it has been the most successful member in terms of economic growth.

In 2024, Ireland’s GDP was US$681 billion, compared to US$5.1 billion in 1971. Per capita GDP has increased from US$1,704 in 1971 to US$129,599 last year, among the top five in the world, on a par with Macau and Singapore.

Membership of the EU has transformed Ireland’s economy from one dependent to agriculture to one driven by high-tech industry and exports. In 2025, nearly 80 per cent of the work will have jobs in the service sector, including technology and finance, up from 45 per cent in 1973.

From 1973 to 2018, Ireland was a net recipient of over 40 billion euros in EU funds. While it has become a net contributor to the EU budget, the benefits of being part of the single market are estimated at more than 30 billion euros. In 2023, the value of Irish exports to the EU was 81 billion euros.

By contrast, Brexit has been a disaster for British people who want to live, work, study, retire and trade in the EU. Members of EU countries do not need a visa to work in another EU country, but British citizens do now.

To curb public anger over rising property prices, several countries in Europe have increased taxes on purchases by non-EU citizens. In January, Spain announced a tax of 100 per cent on such purchases. Thousands of British people want to buy retirement or second homes in warmer European countries.

One of the most famous British people to die an Irishman was John Le Carre. A product of the British establishment, he worked for British intelligence in the 1950s and 1960s. Then he became an internationally famous author of spy novels, including “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold”.

He was so disgusted with Brexit that he applied for an Irish passport, through his grandmother, and received one. His neighbour and friend Philippe Sands said: “It was very, very moving, I have to say, to arrive at the place of his memorial to find an Irish flag and only an Irish flag. He had really in the last years grown very disillusioned with what had happened to Britain and the United Kingdom.

Neale Richmond, a member of the Irish Parliament, said: “Ireland is proud of the global Irish community. We take pride in every passport issued. Needless to say, if any of our diaspora wish to come home, they will be more than welcome.”

In the United States, it is the arrival of Trump that has sparked the surge in applications. Fearful of what life will become during his four years in office, those applying want an escape route that would enable them to leave the country quickly and live and work in a EU country.

How the world has turned. In 1900, the population of Ireland was half what it had been in 1841. The tens of thousands of migrants sought whatever work they could find in the industrial cities of Britain and the United States. None could have imagined the ships going in the other direction.

Mark O'Neill

A Hong Kong-based writer, teacher and speaker.