David Howell Evans, known as The Edge, the guitarist of the legendary rock band U2, has been granted Irish citizenship after living in Ireland for over 60 years. The musician, who was born in Essex, England, moved to Ireland with his Welsh parents when he was just one year old. The Edge was formally recognized as an Irish citizen on Monday in a ceremony in Dublin, along with 7,500 other applicants who were also granted citizenship over the course of two days.
Sporting a pin of the Irish flag on his blazer, The Edge expressed profound joy and pride in finally achieving citizenship. “What an amazingly joyful event for all of us. A monumental day,” he told reporters.
“I guess, you know, I’m a little tardy with the paperwork. I’ve been living in Ireland now since I was one year old. But the time is right.
And I couldn’t be more proud of my country for all that it represents and all that it is doing.”
The Edge described the citizenship process as straightforward but noted that the timing felt particularly significant.
The Edge gains Irish citizenship
“Honestly there were many moments in the past when I could have done it with just the form to be filled out but I’m happy it’s now.
It feels more significant, it feels more meaningful,” he said. Emphasizing Ireland’s global leadership, The Edge continued, “It’s showing real leadership right now in the world and it couldn’t come at a better moment for me so I am just so happy to be at this point to be in even deeper connection with my homeland.”
When asked if Ireland could do more, The Edge remarked, “Can it do more? I think it’s doing a lot.
I’m not sure there is much more it could do more to be honest.”
The Edge formed U2 with Bono, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. in Dublin in 1976. Clayton, similarly born in England, moved to Ireland as a child in 1965 and became an Irish citizen in 1989.
This significant personal milestone for The Edge follows his band’s continued musical endeavors. Recently, U2 frontman Bono revealed that the band has been working on new music. “We’ve been in the studio and you’ve sometimes got to deal with the past to get to the present, in order to make the sound of the future.
That’s what we want to do,” Bono said, expressing the band’s dedication to creating an extraordinary new album.
