Rakaya is an Irish child, a fellow citizen, and our responsibility

We owe it to the daughter of former Irish Air Corps member Lisa Smith, who became a so-called ‘Isis bride’, to do everything we can to bring them home from Syria

Syrian refugees fleeing the war against the islamic State. ‘Somewhere near the Turkish-Syrian border, there are Irish children whose citizenship is as real as DeSouza’s but whose vulnerability is far more acute’ Pic: Getty

Two Irish citizens got their rights trampled on last week. One was the subject of Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil and widespread media coverage; the other, a toddler, seemed to be largely an afterthought.

Derry woman Emma DeSouza is, by right and by law, an Irish citizen; last week, a Belfast tribunal found that she is also, by law, a British citizen. DeSouza’s ongoing fight against this involuntary British citizenship has made her ...