An American woman has said becoming an Irish citizen has made her “really, really happy”. 

Gina London moved to Ireland a decade ago and is booked in to attend an official citizenship ceremony in Killarney next month. 

After that, she will officially be Irish and be able to apply for an Irish passport. 

“First of all, this is home,” she told Lunchtime Live. 

“This is where my daughter goes to school, this is where I live every day.

“Coming here though, the idea to make it official, appealed to me. 

“First of all, it legitimises everything that you’re doing - I’m already paying taxes.” 

Ms London added that she applied with her daughter in mind. 

“I’d love to have that passport which also opens the door to being a real member of the EU community,” she said, 

“That offers choice for my daughter if she wants to go to university in other places. 

“It just legitimises the rest of our lives and gives us that choice. 

“For me, it means everything and I’m really, really happy.” 

An Irish Tricolour flag fluttering in the breeze. Picture by: loren file / Alamy Stock Photo

Unlike in America, there is no citizenship test in Ireland, but Ms London added that, “I like to think I could pass it.” 

Fundamentally, Ireland feels like the place where she belongs. 

“I remember driving down a country road in County Kerry where I’m on the left side, I have my Irish driver’s licence, all those little low hung stone walls were around,” she recalled. 

“And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I live here. I know how to drive these roads. I understand the flick that you give if you’re on a one lane road and another car’s coming.’ 

“It has been an absolute feeling of, ‘I belong here, this is home.’”

Main image: A woman with an Irish passport. Picture by: Alamy.com.