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A surge of interest from Britons eager to obtain Irish passports has been continuing on a day when the Irish government called for calm and said that the processing system was coming under strain.

Here’s what some people at the Irish passport office in South Kensington, London, told me earlier about why they were applying for passports with a harp on the front.

One woman who declined to be filmed admitted that she had voted to leave the European Union last week, but was now concerned about the economic consequences and wanted to get Irish passports for her family.

Most, if not all, were remain voters however, including Dominic Allen, who said: “We have been meaning for a while to reconnect with our Irish roots so Brexit has sort of forced the issue.”

Similar thoughts were on the mind of Oscar Brennan, 17, who came out of the office in South Kensington with an application form tucked under his arm.



“I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to do this because I have always felt a strong connection to Ireland through my parents,” he said. Again, the Brexit vote had prompted him into acting.

“In terms of job prospects you just don’t know what the future is going to hold, so it’s better to be safe than sorry and be equipped to work in Europe.