Going Irish: why I'm voluntarily giving up my Dutch citizenship to become Irish (other than loving Paddy's Day)

Almost ten years ago now, I got a phone call from a recruiter at LinkedIn, telling me they really liked my profile, asking me if I would consider interviewing for this role with them. Oh and by the way, it was based in Dublin, Ireland. At that moment, I was living in the Netherlands, where I was also born and raised and on a steep career trajectory at a large multinational. I’d lived in Switzerland before and spent time in South Africa, so definitely loved the idea of going international again, but I’d never been to Dublin. I had been to Ireland, though. My very first time on a plane, actually, at six years old, had been to Ireland to visit my aunt and uncle who had a holiday home near the bay of Kinsale. 

I have two distinct memories of that trip and yes, they include rain. The first one is of a donkey who, in my memory, had the softest fur I’d ever felt and stood patiently as I petted him. According to the owner it was because of the Irish rain. The soft fur that is, not its patience. No idea where that came from. The second memory is of actual rain and my first exposure to the kindness of the Irish. We’d been out for a walk to the bay and were on our way back when it started to rain. And I mean proper lashing rain, like. The kind that will get you soaked in less than two minutes. And then this car pulls up with these absolutely lovely people, and the car is full, mind you, but they made room for a drenched mother and her 6-year old daughter and it made a lasting impression on me. 

So, when thirty three years later a recruiter asks me if I would consider leaving my entire life behind me and move to a country where I know nobody, to a city I’ve never been, I say yes. Because it’s Ireland, I have good memories, it’ll be grand.  I get hired for the job and on 23 September 2012 I say goodbye to my friends and I leave for Dublin. People ask me how long I’m going for, expecting me to have a duration in mind of a few years maybe, but I just tell them “I’m moving to Ireland”.  After two weeks in a hotel I had the good fortune of finding a gorgeous apartment in Dun Laoghaire and I remember the moment I walked down the pier opposite my apartment, the ‘authentic one’, thinking “this is home”. Because it was and it has been ever since. 

In the past ten years I’ve worked for three different companies, learned that the Irish are friendly but hard to make friends with (fortunately I did make some great friends, though!), begrudge as much as the Dutch but care fiercely about each other and are simply great craic. I’ve visited every county and fell in love with all the beauty every single time. Realised (and got this backed up by data) that it doesn’t rain as much in Dublin as it does in Amsterdam and got confirmed over and over that the Irish genuinely are the kindest people I’ve ever met (and I’ve been to 54 countries so I do have something to compare them to). 

Ireland is also the country where I became paralysed and was hospitalised for almost nine months. The country where I had additional procedures or spent the night in 7 different hospitals (and when you know health care, you know a country). Ireland is where I learned to walk again. Where I reached my first big goal, one year after the surgery that went wrong, of walking down Dun Laoghaire pier, ‘the cultivated one’. 

So why am I giving up my Dutch citizenship?

I remember a moment, about two years ago, after I’d been over to visit the Netherlands, on the flight back. As we were coming into Dublin I saw the pier and all I could think was “ I’m home”. That feeling was so strong that it made me tear up and realise that, not only do I have no intention of ever moving back to the Netherlands, in fact it’s a place I merely visit now, Ireland is home in every way. I like being here more and I like myself here more. The people are nicer (they really are, trust me on this) and the food is better. Anything I don’t like? Okay, the men could be taller, it would make dating a lot easier :-) Also, I’ve started learning Irish and OMG!!! Seriously, I speak four languages and this one does my head in. There’s no structure to it. I want to learn, I really do, but honestly, someone help me already. 

But really, why am I giving up my citizenship?

People keep asking me why I would have to give up my citizenship. Especially as both the Netherlands and Ireland are part of the EU. Well, the Netherlands doesn't allow for dual citizenship so there's that. Technically I don’t have to, though. I could keep living and working here with my Dutch passport. However, I can’t vote and that bugs me. The first referendum after I arrived was the same sex marriage referendum. Being raised with a profound notion of equality, and coming from the country that was the first in the world to legalise same sex marriage, I had some strong opinions on this. The idea that maybe it wouldn’t pass and that I could do nothing to influence that and would have to tell my gay friends back home I really loved this country was troublesome to me. The next referendum was around abortion and again; strong opinions. So yes, if I’m going to stay here I want to have a say in how the country is run. 

People also ask me if I don’t feel emotional about surrendering my Dutch nationality. Telling me they could never do that. I don’t. Part of me will always be Dutch; my directness, my down-to-earth attitude, my love of stroopwafels and black liquorice. I don’t need a passport for that. 

But why do I want to be Irish so much?

If all the reasons I’ve given so far aren’t enough, let me share this story with you. I was taking a walk the other day and, being hemiplegic, walking remains to be a thing for me, even after almost seven years. There’s limited balance and usually quite a bit of pain. But I love walking so off we go. On this day I’d walked quite a bit already when I came to a curb with a lot of loose gravel in front of it. That’s really tricky for me cause it may be slippery as I step off it, so I must have been standing there for a few minutes when this older gentleman comes out of his house telling me he saw me struggling asking if can he help me. He then wants to know if I’m okay to walk home cause he’d rather drive me. I tell him it’s only twenty more minutes and I’m fine but that doesn’t reassure him at all. He now goes inside the house, brings out a chair and a glass of water and insists I sit down and drink the water before I’m on my merry way again. This doesn't happen anywhere else!

You may think I’m taking just one example that happened but I’m not. Even at the height of Covid there were always people willing to help; someone offering their arm or willing to help put the groceries in the car. And so I’m grateful for all the wonderful people I meet every day. For the decision I made to move here ten years ago and for all the adventures that lie ahead. 

The paperwork is submitted and I’m very ready to be Irish. Keep your fingers crossed for me as I wait to be accepted! Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit