ONE hundred people have been made Irish citizens in the first ever Citizenship Ceremony to be held in Waterford, which took place today (Friday).

The 100 candidates, who came from Waterford and the South East, were joined by their families and friends in City Hall for the ceremony that was held as part of the 1848 Tricolour Festival.

Addressing the huge crowd in the Large Room Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter said he was delighted to be in Waterford on this special day. “It is a very important day in the story of your life and it is also an important day for Ireland, as the host nation bestowing this honour on you,” the Minister told the applicants.

According to Minister Shatter today was a day that was rich in symbolism and connections. “It is about you the applicants becoming citizens of our democratic republic where you make a solemn pledge to uphold the ideals and principles we cherish. It is a day where we acknowledge in a most appropriate way the designation of the Tricolour as our national flag over 160 years ago by one of our great patriots Thomas Meagher. Finally it is a day where we are doing all this in the hometown of Meagher who was as proud of his Waterford birthright as you are of the place which you have made your adopted home,” he said.

The first Citizenship Ceremony ever held in this State took place on June 2011 in Dublin Castle. “On that day, 73 applicants were welcomed as Ireland’s newest citizens. Since then, 85 ceremonies have been held and over 60,000 people have been welcomed to Ireland’s national family,” he said.