Need to renew my Irish passport?

[digdug]

Hello all, I have a question about passport and EU citizenship that I was hoping someone would answer.

So basically I am considering entering a 3-year PhD program in the U.K. Assuming I get in to my school(s) of choice, and get the necessary funding, I'm in, though things are far from certain.

I live in Canada, but I am also an Irish citizen, and hold an Irish passport that expires in Sept. 2011. If I get in to school, I'll be entering the U.K. a year earlier (late August-Sept. 2010).

I know that most E.U. countries will let you in on a valid passport no matter what the expiry date, but I wanted to make sure that this applies to the always-stricter United Kingdom. I also wanted to make sure that it was all right that my passport expired before my 3-year school stay was up (of course I'll renew when I'm there).

My wife will be coming with me, and will require a residency permit (6-month before we arrive, longer for when we're there), if that complicates things.

[UKBAbble]

As long as it's still valid it's OK.