Jeremy Irons fails in bid to become Irish citizen

He’s owned a castle in County Cork for nearly 30 years, but Jeremy Irons has failed in his bid to become an Irish citizen.

The Oscar-nominated British star married Irish theatre actor Sinéad Cusack in 1978, with Irons, 77, purchasing Kilcoe Castle near Ballydehob, as well as a home in central London.

But speaking at an event last week (10 February), Cusack, 78, admitted that her husband’s attempt to get an Irish passport had recently reached a standstill due to the financial implications.

“He tried to get an Irish passport but [it would mean] a very extreme rethink of all his tax situations, so he gave up,” she told The Daily Mail. “We talked to a friend who's been through it. He's moved all his tax affairs [to Ireland]. It's a great shame.”

Back in 2021, Irons spoke about his desire (and struggle) to get an Irish passport. “More British people should try to marry a Celt,” he told the Irish Independent in 2021. “Not just for the passport, although the passport would be nice.”

To the suggestion that his celebrity status should allow him to get one easily, the Brideshead Revisited star replied: “Oh, I wish they would, but they won’t.”

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Following the UK’s exit from the European Union due to Brexit, many Brits with Irish family members have sought out Irish passports in order to become citizens of the EU once again.

In 2024, a record breaking 242,772 people living in the UK applied for an Irish passport, marking the highest number since Britain left the EU in 2020.

British nationals born before 1 January 2005 with at least one parent or grandparent born in Ireland are eligible for Irish citizenship.

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This means that Irons and Cusack’s adult children – photographer Samuel, 49, and actor Max, 40, who were born and raised in London – are able to receive Irish passports.

Speaking at the event, Cusack said: “My boys and grandchildren are all getting Irish passports. Max hasn't sent his application in yet, but he will get the passport because I'm fully Irish.”

Raised on the Isle of Wight, Irons has previously spoken about his love of his adopted Irish identity. However, he admitted that there was originally a tension between his British ways and the Irish Cusack family, who produced many of Ireland’s finest actors.

“But of course the Irish being as they are – not valuing themselves and feeling inferior because of the bloody British – I think [Sinéad’s father] Cyril was very pleased that his daughter was marrying a British man,” he said in 2021.