There has been an influx of Irish passport applications since the Brexit referendum (Brian Lawless/PA)

More Irish passports were issued in the UK than in the Republic of Ireland in the first six months of 2019.

The Irish passport office has confirmed that 78,744 passports were issued to first-time applicants living in Great Britain and Northern Ireland from January till the end of June.

During the same period 60,300 Irish passports were issued to adults making their first application in the Republic of Ireland.

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In order to apply for an Irish passport you must be an Irish citizen.

Irish citizenship can be acquired in a series of ways, including through place of birth, Irish descent, marriage, adoption or residing in Ireland for a particular length of time.

Irish citizenship is automatic for people who were born on the island of Ireland before 2005 or those with a parent who is an Irish born citizen.

There has been a marked increase in the number of people from the UK applying for an Irish passport ahead of Brexit.

In 2015, there were more than 46,000 applications from Great Britain. This more than doubled in 2018 to over 98,500 Irish passport applications.

It has been suggested many want to retain the benefits of EU membership, including the freedom of movement, with the UK set to leave the European Union on October 31.

Belfast Telegraph