COPR received today!! From what I can gather, I don't have to send my passport away to London, I assumed that everyone did, but I believe that Visa Exempt Countries do not have to send their passports to the Visa Office that issues their COPR. Ireland is a Visa Exempt Country, so it's not a requirement for me.
So now I can Land! OMG, what a great feeling! Watch this space!
Just want to wish all the best of luck to the rest of you December Applicants. .
I received some valuable advice along the way and this forum helped me a lot. So I will keep checking on here and pass on any information that might be useful to others.
As we would say in Ireland - Slainte!