The number of people in the United States seeking to become Irish citizens has significantly increased.
Last year the number of foreign birth registrations in the US increased by half compared to 2023.
The Foreign Births Register allows the descendants of Irish people who have moved abroad to claim Irish citizenship.
Applications for Irish passports in the United States also rose by 10% last year.
Foreign birth registrations
The number of foreign birth registrations in the United States increased by 50% last year.
Figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs show that there were 7,726 registrations in 2023, but 11,601 in 2024.
Registrations from the US accounted for over a quarter (27%) of all foreign birth registrations last year.
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There has been a steady increase in the overall number of foreign birth registrations over the last ten years.
There were 6,116 in total in 2015, whereas last year there were 42,808.
During this time the most significant increases have come from Britain and from the US and Canada.
Passport applications
Passport applications from the United States account for only 3.2% of all passport applications here, but the number of applications has also been steadily increasing in recent years.
Last year there were 31,825 passport applications from the US, an increase of almost 10% on the previous year.
Last November, saw the highest number of passport applications from the US in a calendar month in the ten years worth of figures supplied to RTÉ News.
There were 3,692 applications made that month.
'I'd rather have it and not need it'
Erin Clayton is a US citizen living in New Hampshire and currently in the process of applying for an Irish passport.
"It's been on my radar to do for a long time because my mom was born in Ireland," she said, "but with the things that are going on in the US right now with the new administration, it's scary and I thought it would be smart to have just in case. I'd rather have it and not need it, than not have pursued it.
"I'm the daughter of an immigrant ... I am not who they're targeting right now, but what does that mean? So, I just like I said, I just would rather be safe.
"Having the Irish passport would give me more freedom if I had to leave long term."
Martina Curtin, President of the Irish Cultural Centre of Greater Boston, said there are many reasons Americans chose to get Irish citizenship.
"Some of it is just their deep affinity to Ireland. You cannot underestimate that. Other people, it's just for practical reasons, they see the value of having that Irish passport. It's a gateway to the EU ... it's for economic reasons, for instance, they may want to be able to attend a university in Ireland. Third level education is much less expensive in Ireland compared to the United States."
She said it has also become much easier to apply for citizenship because of the ease of applying online and accessing digital records.
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