And that reconnection with her roots, combined with the impact of the UK\u2019s exit from the EU, has led her to relinquish her UK passport<\/a> altogether.<\/p>\n She told The i Paper \u201cmy primary motivation was Brexit\u201d but there was \u201can emotional or sentimental reason too\u201d.<\/p>\n Now she feels completely at home with her Irish identity and said there was \u201cno value\u201d in renewing her UK passport.<\/p>\n Growing up in an adopted family in Lincolnshire, Ms Wellband had no idea she had any Irish heritage.<\/p>\n Then after a spell in London as an independent mortgage broker, she moved to Dublin<\/a> to live and work in 1995.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all seemed to fall into place\u201d, she said of her move to Ireland.<\/a><\/p>\n Five years later, she traced her birth mother and discovered her maternal grandmother was Irish and had come from Wexford on the east coast of Ireland.<\/p>\n At the time, Ms Wellband considered pursuing her Irish citizenship but never got round to doing it.<\/p>\n After 12 years living in Dublin, a sudden change in circumstances in 2007 prompted her to leave her life in Ireland.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cA relationship and a job all ended within a week and I thought \u2018f**k it, I\u2019m going somewhere else\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Within a matter of months, she had moved to Portugal.<\/a><\/p>\n And when the UK voted to leave the EU<\/a> in the 2016 Brexit referendum, this was also a turning point for Ms Wellband.<\/p>\n \u201cThat made my mind up, I thought, I need to get my act together and get an Irish or Portugese passport<\/a>\u201c, she said.<\/p>\n Getting Portugese citizenship required a certain level of language skills which, at that time, Ms Wellband didn\u2019t think she had and so she applied for an Irish passport.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody was applying at that time, so it did take a while\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n Six months later, she had Irish citizenship and an Irish passport.<\/p>\n She is one of many British-born citizens who have chosen to follow this route in a post-Brexit world. They include The i Paper\u2019s Sophie Gallagher who described her Irish passport as \u201cworth it\u2019s weight in gold\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\n Unrestricted travel, the option to live, work and study across the EU without a visa and no queuing at passport control have tempted many to take advantage of their Irish heritage.<\/p>\n The most recent UK census in 2021 revealed there were 160,000 people in England and Wales who had Irish passports, compared to 26,000 who had dual British-Irish nationality in the 2011 census five years before Brexit.<\/p>\n Ms Wellband, 61, now lives with her partner in a village called Ch\u00e3os, north of Lisbon, where she works as a remedial hypnotist.<\/p>\n Reflecting on her decision, she said: \u201cMy primary motivation was Brexit, if I hadn\u2019t got it I would be able to stay in Portugal but I wouldn\u2019t be able to travel easily.\u201d<\/p>\n However, there was another element driving her to pursue her Irish citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s certainly an emotional or sentimental reason too\u201d, she added, \u201cIt makes me feel more connected to my roots.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_248066405.jpg\")
Ms Wellband is one of many UK citizens to apply for an Irish passport since Brexit (Photo: Getty)<\/p>\n