Irish May Sway Brexit Vote as U.K. Mulls With or Without EU
- Some 380,000 Irish living in the U.K. can vote on June 23
- Latest polls show narrow lead for the ``Remain'' campaign
A passport for a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is pictured in London, on July 23, 2008. Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will began a three day strike Wednesday, in the latest industrial action over the government’s policy to cap public sector pay and close offices. The three day stoppage, hitting the UK's seven regional passport offices and 68 interview offices, will lead to the cancellation of passport interviews and delay the issuing of passports during one of the busiest periods of the year. AFP PHOTO/Leon Neal (Photo credit should read Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)
Photographer: Leon Neal/AFP via Getty ImagesLiving in the English midlands, born across the Irish Sea, Gene Renehan felt an added urgency in getting his newborn daughter a passport from his homeland: fear of Brexit.
Renehan, 38, jokes with his English wife that she will languish in airport lines as he and his two children sail serenely through Europe on their Irish papers if the U.K. opts to leave the European Union in the referendum on June 23. Still, the broader consequences of a split are serious, he said.