U2 guitarist The Edge finally becomes Irish citizen after over 60 years: ‘I'm a little tardy'
After living in Ireland for 62 years, the U2 guitarist, 63, became an Irish citizen on Monday.
'I guess, you know, I'm a little tardy with the paper work,' The Edge, whose real name is David Howell Evans, joked to reporters during a ceremony for new Irish citizens in Killarney, according to the Irish outlet The Journal.
5 The Edge of U2 celebrates the release of a new Apple iPod family of products at the California Theatre on October 26, 2004.
Getty Images
'I've been living in Ireland now since I was 1-year-old,' he explained. '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.'
Evans was born in Essex, England, but relocated to Ireland as a child.
'It's showing real leadership right now in the world,' the musician added, '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.'
5 Guitarist of 'U2', David Howell Evans.
AFP via Getty Images
He shared that the paperwork to obtain his citizenship was 'quite straightforward.'
'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,' Evans admitted. 'It feels more significant, it feels more meaningful.'
'Because of what is going on in the world right now,' he explained. 'What Ireland stands for, it's very powerful. We are talking really about showing leadership in the world, supporting our international bodies, the ICC, UN, speaking truth to power. Really important what Ireland is representing right now.'
5 Bono and The Edge at the 60th Annual GRAMMY awards.
Getty Images for NARAS
The guitarist said becoming an Irish citizen with thousands of others was 'a monumental day for all of us.'
U2 was founded in Dublin in 1976 by Evans, Bono, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. The group signed with Island Records and released their debut album, 'Boy,' in 1980.
They have since put out 15 studio albums and garnered 22 Grammys and two Golden Globes. In 2004, U2 was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
5 The Edge of U2 performs onstage.
WireImage
The band's lead singer, Bono, 65, has worked on solo projects over the years, including a stage show called 'Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief…' and his AppleTV+ film, 'Bono: Stories of Surrender,' that dropped last month.
The movie follows Bono's 2022 memoir, 'Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.'
In May, the singer spoke with Esquire about how the stage show made him 'miss' his father, Bob Hewson, who died in 2001 at 75.
5 Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton of U2 perform at the SCG on November 22, 2019.
Getty Images
'I began to really like him, as well as love him,' Bono admitted about the performances. 'I even began to miss him.'
'I realized it was his sense of humor,' he explained about his late dad's jabs. 'My whole life it came across as only cutting, but I realized how very funny it was.'
'I started to realize that all of those arguments that we used to have at the kitchen table, he was always on the side of social justice,' Bono detailed. 'He owns that part of me.'
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