I'm pretty sure it would not have been technically legal for me to stay in the situation I described. Luckily I was able to get the resubmitted visa processed before the date I would have had to leave the country. Best of luck, it's not a nice situation to be in.

Hi all, I've been in Ireland for the last two years, first studying and then on a third level graduate visa. The graduate visa runs out soon and I've been working on getting a critical skills employment permit so I can stay here. I had my original application submitted with plenty of time to spare ...