Advice on applying for an Irish passport

[Playingfootball]

Maybe posting in the wrong place, if so, sorry.
Is the only way to get an irish passport, as an eligible applicant living in England, to post all my very important documents to Cork? Is there no check and send service at the Irish embassy in London/can I do it in London? Or alternatively I’ll be in Belfast in April, can I do it there(I think not). I can’t find the answers I need on line and am still waiting for an email response. Anyone on here done this and can advise? Thank you.

treaclesoda

Right, so if I've got this right you think that the possibility of dead Irish people (well, Northern Irish people, so British people in a lot of cases) is less harmful than the EU forcing the UK to have straight bananas? Or bendy bananas. Or whatever the hell it is that the tabloid newspapers like to moan about the EU forcing on the UK.

You haven't got it right. First (and I hope I am not wrong here) I think the possibility of dead Irish people is being significantly exaggerated, though I am worried by the fact that the gun and the bomb always seem to be buried very close to the surface in Irish politics. Second, my issues with the EU are much more nuanced than bendy bananas and date back to Maastricht. Third, I rarely read what you describe as 'tabloid newspapers' (though as the Times and the Guardian now fit that description it's perhaps not as perjorative as you would like).

Scandaloso

By 'the posturing of Varadkar' he means what all his ilk mean 'why doesn't the silly little Paddy be a good boy and do as his former colonial masters tell him'.

It's not like Varadkar has the interests of his own country to look out for confused

Going ad hom now? Varadkar certainly has the interests of his own country to look after. Unfortunately, like most politicians, he is more interested in himself. He thinks he will get re-elected by (a) playing to the gallery on a United Ireland and (b) using that as a means to fight off SF who are coming up on the inside. Kenny was taking a much more constructive approach.

As you will see in the Irish press and the Irish forums, Varadkar decided to play hard ball. The danger is he pushed May too far and that will lead to a No Deal situation which could be very bad for Ireland.

BTW, I also think, as I said in my previous comment, that May has also been spectacularly bad here. Funny you only picked up on the Varadkar part.

People as yet unborn know that May has been a colossal disaster. Did that really need to be said?

I picked up on the Varadkar point because as an Irish person I've noticed the anti Irish foghorn growing louder and louder in the last few weeks, as the ridiculous Brexit project veers further off the rails. As predicted the Brexiters are blaming anyone but themselves. First it was Remainers, now it's the Irish. When will they start to consume one another I wonder.

Kenny was taking a much more constructive approach.

Brexit bingo.

Every brexiter who is infuriated by Varadkar ends with a compliment to Kenny. Because they think that makes it look like they know what they're talking about. But it's a myth, any Taoiseach would be taking the line Varadkar is.

I think the possibility of dead Irish people is being significantly exaggerated

There was a bomb less than a fortnight ago, and it's sheer luck that no one was killed, considering that people walked right past it shortly before it went off. The bomb obviously wasn't directly a protest against Brexit but people are angry about the issues around the border, so it's hardly helping calm the situation.

Varadkar's approach is no different to Kenny's. And indeed, any credible Irish politician would do the same. I don't know why you think Ireland should compromise.

Oh, and SF are a protest party in Ireland. FG wouldn't be overly concerned about them.

I picked up on the Varadkar point because as an Irish person I've noticed the anti Irish foghorn growing louder and louder in the last few weeks, as the ridiculous Brexit project veers further off the rails. As predicted the Brexiters are blaming anyone but themselves. First it was Remainers, now it's the Irish. When will they start to consume one another I wonder.

Yes, yes, yes.

@Talbotman, if you knew as much about Irish politics as you’re trying to potray you’d know FG voters are not going to vote SF.
And I’m sure all of us worried about a resumption of violence will sleep easy tonight with your reassurance.
As for your comment about the gun and bomb in Irish politics, the small matter of 800 years of oppression, plantation and repression are still playing out, particularly in NI, but as long as the UK gets to play being a mighty colonial power again, thats all that matters.
In the meantime anyone who’s entitled to have an Irish passport is welcome to one as far as I’m concerned, even hypocritical leave voters.

if you knew as much about Irish politics as you’re trying to potray you’d know FG voters are not going to vote SF

Indeed!

I think it was Iain Duncan Smith who first said that LV was just trying to impress the Irish electorate as he was worried Fine Gael voters would switch to Sinn Fein. Christ, that would be like a Tory voter switching allegiance to People Before Profit. Never.going.to.happen.

Unfortunately I sent all my documents away and I’m still waiting 10 weeks on, really hoping to get it all back before end of March.

What’s wrong with sending stuff to Cork ? What do you think’s going to happen ?

It’s just a pain being without important documents for several months. I sent my UK passport off and I have had to pay for a new one as I’m going on holiday in 2 weeks. I have to reapply for my mortgage soon so will reorder a lot of documents if they don’t come back soon. It will be worth it when I get my Irish passport eventually (hopefully before end of March!)

Documents usually come back quite quickly , the passport not so fast. Even our Irish renewals took a while.
How did you manage to get two British passports - will it not mean that the one you sent is invalid?

Just popping back to say thank you to those who reassured me about the passport tracking. I'm pleased to say 2 out of the 3 passports have now arrived with me and the important/sentimental original documents I sent with them were safely returned in the same envelopes. Strangely, the one we are still waiting for is for the DD who had already had an Irish Passport that expired 5 or so years ago. So in effect her application was a renewal, so I would have thought therefore slightly more straightforward than the other two that were first applications . Tracking says it is still being processed so fingers crossed it won't be too much longer... the two that have arrived came 1 month earlier that the "estimated" date on the tracking app.