Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Unionists who had never previously considered applying for an Irish passport did so after the EU referendum

The number of people in Northern Ireland applying for Irish passports rose by more than 60% in July, compared with the same period last year.

In the first full month since the UK's vote to leave the EU, there were 6,638 applications for Irish passports from people living in the region.

That is 2,568 more than July last year.

Applications for Irish passports from people living in Great Britain also increased year on year in July, with a 73% rise.

Post Offices in Belfast and elsewhere noted a sharp rise in applications in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.

Unionists

But there is some evidence that this has slowed down in more recent weeks.

Some unionists who had never previously considered an Irish passport started to apply in the wake of Brexit, but it is impossible to calculate how many.

The statistics released on Friday by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin include:

a 63% rise in Northern Ireland applications last month (year on year), compared with a 10% rise in June;

a 73% increase in applications from Great Britain, compared with a 22% rise in June.

Full details can be found at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.