Hundreds of people in majority unionist parts of Northern Ireland are applying for Irish passports in the years since Brexit, new figures reveal.
Statistics from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs obtained by Belfast Live show the number of Irish passports issued to people in Northern Ireland in 2020 and 2021 by their postcode area.
It shows that many of the passports have been issued to applicants in communities considered mainly unionist based on past electoral voting patterns.
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In the areas surrounding Ballymena in Co Antrim, a stronghold of the former DUP leader Rev Ian Paisley, more than 630 Irish passports were issued in the past two years.
For the BT38 postcode covering the Carrickfergus area on the east coast, almost 160 Irish passports were issued.
And almost 360 were issued to people living at addresses with BT22 and BT23 postcodes, which cover the Newtownards area.
Postcodes in mainly nationalist communities bordering the Republic had the largest numbers of Irish passports issued in the two years since the UK formally left the European Union.
More than 1,700 Irish passports were given to applicants living in the area surrounding Newry in Co Down, while more than 1,400 were issued in Derry city postcode areas.
Overall the number of Irish passports issued in Northern Ireland increased by more than 30% from 6,830 in 2020 to 8,939 last year, according to the figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
Ballymena councillor Patricia O'Lynn said it was "not surprising" to see increased applications in the wake of Brexit.
The Alliance North Antrim candidate in the upcoming Assembly election said: "Alliance supports the Good Friday Agreement provision allowing people from Northern Ireland to hold either British or Irish passports, or both.
"Given the ongoing access to EU rights which comes from holding an Irish passport, it is not surprising to see increased applications.
"We suspect the majority of these would be dual passport holders."
In the Larne area on the east coast of Co Antrim, there were 114 Irish passports issued over the two-year period. The postcode taking in the village of Royal Hillsborough received 89 Irish passports.
Katy Hayward, Professor of Political Sociology at Queen's University Belfast, said holding an Irish passport since Brexit can be seen as "pragmatic rather than a cultural or political statement".
She said: "In the 2011 census, over 28% of people in NI described their identity as 'Irish only' but only 20% held Irish passports. There is a difference between national identity and citizenship - and of course the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement recognised that some in NI may wish to be both British and Irish.
"That was straightforward enough when British and Irish citizens enjoyed the same rights as EU citizens. But the meaning and significance of holding an Irish passport has changed considerably post-Brexit. It offers certain practical benefits that are no longer given by British citizenship alone.
"So holding an Irish passport can be seen as a pragmatic rather than a cultural or political statement - and thus need not be seen as contradicting an individual's unionist principles."
But Prof Hayward said passports can bring "duties as well as rights".
She said: "There is to be a referendum in the Republic in 2024 on voting rights for Irish citizens abroad in presidential elections. If it is passed, we could see unionists in Bangor, Portrush and Craigavon voting for the head of the Irish state whilst enjoying freedom of movement rights in Europe.
"This may not change their sense of identity very much but it will surely affect our understanding of unionism itself."
Irish passports issued to people Northern Ireland - top 10 postcodes (2020-21):
- BT35 (Newry, south Armagh area) - 939
- BT34 (Newry, south Down area) - 839
- BT48 (Derry area) - 752
- BT47 (Derry area) - 682
- BT71 (Dungannon area) - 531
- BT60 (Armagh area) - 490
- BT17 (West Belfast and north Lisburn area) - 453
- BT36 (Newtownabbey) - 421
- BT8 (Parts of South Belfast) - 420
- BT45 (Magherafelt) - 414
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