‘Today changes the history of my life’- joy among new Irish citizens

Fixing a tricolour pin to his lapel, Christian Ekombolo seemed to be marking the symbolic end of an old life and the beginning of his future.

Five years ago, the 34-year-old fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he worked as a political operative in the heat of a fractious national election.

On Monday, among the heave of Ireland’s 3,000 newest citizens officially conferred at the Convention Centre Dublin, he was finally home.

“I had been through a lot of trouble in the 2011 elections and I decided to leave the country because I can’t stay there anymore for [the sake of] my life. My wife was living here already and I decided to come over,” he said.

He had worked for the MLC (Movement for the Liberation of the Congo), a main opposition party, in a country savaged by internecine conflict.

“[I was] living with the fear that any time you can be caught and you can die as well. Arriving here, even before I got refugee status, I was relieved already because I knew that I was in a safe place.

"Before I came to Ireland I was hearing about Ireland already - when you go there you are safe," he said.

“Thank God today is a different day. The day changes the history of my life.”

It was a theme evidenced by thousands of smiling faces, processed in long queues throughout three sessions at the Convention Centre.

After years of waiting, they lined up one last time for certificates before attending the official, mass swearing-in ceremony.

The Garda band engineered a carnival atmosphere with jazzy renditions of “Blaze Away” and “Fly Me to the Moon”, summing up the mood in an auditorium filled with the sound of children gazing down on their parents from the gallery above.

Fine Gael chief whip Regina Doherty said that since the introduction of these large-scale ceremonies, over 95,000 people had been welcomed here from more than 170 countries.

Alina Tolmacheva (27) arrived from Russia in 2002 and, with a long established Irish accent, explained how treasured the little things like ease-of-travel would be with a newly acquired passport.

“There is an incredible sense of freedom,” she said with visible excitement. “I am more Irish than I am Russian. All of my values are Irish; all of my views are Irish.”

‘Long process’

In another corner of the room, Colin Owens was taking pictures of his newly naturalised wife Danila and their two-year-old daughter Penny. The couple was married in the Philippines in 2010.

“It’s the end of a long process. It’s been a lot of forms, red tape and worry,” said Colin, and as with many others, the couple relish the chance to escape the bureaucracy of visas.

Travel has been difficult for the young family and Penny has yet to meet her grandmother in the Philippines, her six aunts, four uncles and 20 cousins.

“Even to go away on holiday, it’s a visa, and [Danila] hasn’t been home in five years. Hopefully now we will go back to the Philippines,” he said.

Retired High Court judge Bryan McMahon, presiding over the official oath of fidelity to their new State, told the citizens that Ireland was a "nation of emigrants", fully in tune with their experience.

“Bring with you your songs, your music and your stories,” he implored them and recommended they find a copy of the Constitution.

“This is what the State is giving you,” he said. “This is the legacy, the legal legacy that you are entitled to now.”