Irish Gauntlet

William Sjostrom of Atlantic Blog recalls the grueling process of becoming an Irish citizen:

When I got Irish citizenship, I filled out a form that asked me exactly nothing about Ireland. After waiting a while, I got a letter saying I was approved. That is it. No expectation that I have a clue what is in the Irish constitution or even know it has one, no expectation that I know who or what the taoiseach is, no expectation that I have the barest knowledge of English so that I can follow what is happening in the country. (When I was sworn in at the courthouse, the court clerk checked to see if I needed an interpreter. I was going to say "Only in West Cork", but my wife gave me that look that told me if I said anything other than no, I would only maybe live to regret it.) If Ireland wants immigrants to take citizenship seriously, it is going to have to make citizenship mean something other than "we can't keep you out".