Brexit sees 900,000 Irish passport applications in 2019

One of the outcomes of the utter insanity that is the current Brexit process is the significant rise in the number of passport applications for EU countries by UK residents. In 2019, some 900,000 people in Northern Ireland and Britain applied for an Irish passport for the first time, as outlined in the Belfast Telegraph today at https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/brexit/brexit-sees-record-900000-applying-for-irish-passport-38814356.html.

Indeed, yours truly spent many years prior to the Brexit vote dithering about whether to apply for an Irish passport myself, having spent an eternity struggling to define my identity as someone born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. But when the MP Jo Cox was assassinated on June 16th 2016 by a right wing lunatic just prior to the Brexit vote (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jo_Cox), I concluded that Brexit was indeed sadly going to happen, and duly applied a week before the day of the vote for Irish passports for myself and my two sons, so that we could join my wife in holding one (she being from the Republic). Brexit was not the only factor in making such a decision, but it was the final push needed, and I now predominantly travel on my Irish passport, though retain a UK passport and dual nationality as an interim measure here in Scotland.

My experience in how I obtained an Irish passport is outlined in a series of blog posts starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html. The RootsIreland website also has a help page on how to claim an Irish passport at http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/.

If born in Ireland prior to January 2005, or if the child of a parent born in Ireland, the process is relatively straightforward, with applicants already considered to be Irish citizens (whether from the north or the south). But be advised that if applying through a grandparent, you will need to register first in the Republic of Ireland's Register of Foreign Births - see https://www.dfa.ie/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/. This is an expensive process (€278 if aged over 18), but something I also discovered on behalf of a friend just a couple of weeks ago is that the time that it takes to do so is now between nine months and a year. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade link above provides further details - just be forewarned!

Chris

Order Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed) at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Irish-Family-History-on-the-Internet-Paperback/p/16483. and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records at https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Tracing-Your-Scottish-Ancestry-through-Church-and-State-Records-Paperback/p/16848. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

How to apply for an Irish passport

As the absolute clusterbùrach that is Brexit continues to paralyse British politics, I've had a few email requests in the last week about how to claim an Irish passport.

I have previously outlined on this blog how I obtained passports for myself and my two sons from here in Scotland three years ago in a series of four posts starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html.

You will also find useful advice on the RootsIreland website at http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/.

At present the Irish Government is processing about 3000 applications a day, so there may be a delay with both your order and in obtaining any necessary certificates from the GRO offices in Belfast or Roscommon.

I hope this helps, and that if you choose to go for one that your application is successful.

Chris

My next Scottish Research Online course starts March 11th 2019 - see www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102. Details of my genealogical research service are available at www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk. For my Scottish and Irish themed books, visit https://britishgenes.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. Further news published daily on The GENES Blog Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.

Applying for an Irish passport

Today the Brexit negotiation process finally got underway. As someone personally appalled at the prospect of being taken out of the EU against my will, and as someone who has long struggled with my identity (as to whether I am British or Irish), I finally exercised my right last year to apply for Irish passports for myself and my two sons. We now have dual citizenship, confirming our Irish connection as well as our UK one, and maintaining EU access and rights for myself and my two boys. (I appreciate others may have a different view!

The Belfast Telegraph is noting that the number of applications for Irish passports is not slowing up, with 833 applicants on one day alone in March (see http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/833-irish-passport-applications-from-ni-in-a-day-35839433.html). Over the course of my own application I blogged a series of posts detailing the process (as an applicant in Scotland), including what ancestral connections qualify you to apply for a passport, and which genealogical records you may need for the process. If you too are interested in obtaining an Irish passport, my posts are still available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html - links to subsequent posts are at the end of the first article.

Good luck if you choose to go for it!

Chris

My next 5 week Scottish Research Online course commences Sept 11th 2017 - details at https://www.pharostutors.com/details.php?coursenumber=102.
For details on my Scottish & Irish genealogy guide books, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.
For my genealogy research service, please visit http://www.ScotlandsGreatestStory.co.uk.

Claiming an Irish passport - Part 4: claimed!

Back in June I started a series of posts on this blog detailing my attempts to claim an Irish passport, in the wake of the Brexit vote. In my last post at the start of July (part 3), I detailed how I filled out the relevant forms, including the seeking of a witness to sign the passport photographs and the form itself, and how I then posted it. I was advised that the process would take about seven weeks to turn around the application.

On the Friday just prior to my trip to the States last week I received a phone call from the passport folk in Dublin. They had my application (and those for my two sons), and had had some problems contacting the witness, but were able to confirm his identity from other means online; the call was simply to verify that I was confirming the applications for my two boys, as one of their parents (my wife received a similar call at her work). Both of us gave the necessary confirmation, and that was that. We were then informed that the passports would be sent in the diplomatic bag overnight to London, but with the English bank holiday approaching, it would likely be the middle of the next week that they would arrive.

By this time I was in the United States for the FGS conference, but last Thursday I received a message from my wife that they had been delivered to our house. It was a huge personal moment for me, and I was delighted to announce to my American audience that as of that day I now held dual nationality between the UK and Ireland.

I returned home to Scotland today - and this is me now with my new passport!

If you too wish to claim an Irish passport, please see the following links for previous posts in this series:

Part One: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html

Part Two: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-part-2.html

Part Three: https://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/claiming-irish-passport-part-3.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

GRO Belfast search room reopens after passports pressure

The General Register Office for Northern Ireland has reopened its public search room, having been forced to temporarily close it in recent weeks, such was the demand for birth certificates for Irish passport applications on the back of the Brexit vote.

For the full story visit the Irish News story at www.irishnews.com/news/2016/07/19/news/-high-demand-for-birth-certificates-in-the-wake-of-brexit-610940/.

I have been one of those who has applied for Irish passports, as have my two sons. For details on how we have sought to do so, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport.html.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

FindmyPast adds US naturalisation and passport records

FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) has added two collections which may be of interest if your ancestors migrated to the United States:

United States Naturalization Petitions 1905-1950
https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/united-states-naturalisation-petitions-1908632867.html
http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/united-states-naturalization-petitions

United States Naturalization Petitions contains more than 7.8 million records spanning the years 1905 to 1950. The collection currently covers four states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania, and allows you to discover when and where your immigrant ancestor was born, how old they were when they first crossed the Atlantic and their port of entry. Images of the original documents may even include a photograph of your ancestor.


US Passport Applications and Indexes
https://blog.findmypast.co.uk/us-passport-applications-and-indexes-1908610405.html
http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-Records/united-states-passport-applications

Discover when, where, and why your ancestors travelled with over 800,000 US Passport Application records. Applications may also include a physical description, your ancestor's occupation, residence, naturalisation details, the name of their spouse, date of birth and place of birth. Most applications are one to two pages in length and, from 21 December 1914 onward, photographs of applicants are also included. Photographs can be found on the second page when viewing images of the original document.

This collection of regular passport applications has been compiled from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) collection M1490. Images of the original documents are included and may reveal additional details of your ancestor's citizenship, such as when and from where they immigrated, by what means they arrived in the United States, and when they were naturalized. For those born in the United States, you may learn details of their fathers' naturalization such as their full name, birthplace, and date and place of emigration. Additional details were also recorded such as the applicant's eye colour as well as descriptions of their mouth, nose, forehead, chin, complexion, face, and hair colour.

NARA publication M1490 Passport Applications, 1906-March 31, 1925 covers 2 January 1906 to 31 March 1925.

Further details via the links.

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Ancestry searches soar in aftermath of Brexit

Following the Brexit vote on June 23rd, in which the UK voted to withdraw from the European Union, Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk) has reported a surge in use on its website with regard to its Irish collections, seemingly with the intent of tracing Irish ancestry in order to apply for an Irish passport. The full story is available at http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/family-ancestry-searches-soar-after-brexit-11364071763956 and http://www.independent.ie/business/brexit/online-searches-for-irish-ancestry-up-by-onefifth-with-users-keen-to-learn-if-they-qualify-for-eu-passport-34857091.html.

Sue Moncur of Ancestry states that "Since the referendum we have seen the rate of new UK users signing up for free trials to investigate their family history go up by 40%. At the same time we have seen a strong rise in interest in our Irish record collections, with daily searches for Irish records up 20% since the referendum.

"The question of British identity has been brought into focus for many because of the referendum. The spike in interest in people investigating their family history is likely linked to that, alongside a more general curiosity about European or international identity. A lot of people have also been concerned about the impact that separation from the EU may have on freedom of movement between the UK and EU countries. It seems likely that the rise in searches of our extensive Irish records might be a direct result of people looking for a link to Ireland or an Irish ancestor.

"There are tens of millions of Irish records digitised on Ancestry and since the referendum we have seen a 20% rise in people searching those records. Millions of British people have Irish ancestry so the increase in search activity suggests a trend in people looking to confirm their links to Ireland, possibly with the longer term goal of applying for an Irish passport."

Over the last couple of weeks I have been blogging about my own efforts to secure Irish passports for myself and my two sons, a process I actually initiated before the Brexit vote - it's something I have long been contemplating, as much for reasons of identity as anything else. I have received a couple of complaints for doing so - specifically "What's it got to do with genealogy?" - but I make no apology for having done so. Indeed, many friends of mine, who work as genealogists, have been reporting an increase in requests to locate documentation for similar applications, not just for Ireland, but from other EU countries.

One of the benefits from genealogy is that it can act as a means to help secure and affirm a person's identity. Establishing a line of descent to other cultures in which you were not raised can bring benefits other than a family tree chart. You can share and affirm that identity by other means, including citizenship, and a passport is a reflection of that. The records that can be obtained for genealogical research, such as birth and marriage certificates, can be used in that process. In the post-Brexit vote, I consider posting about it to be a public service for those who do not wish to lose EU citizenship.

To read my efforts so far on the Irish front, visit the following blog posts:

Part One: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html

Part Two: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-part-2.html

Part Three: https://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/claiming-irish-passport-part-3.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Claiming an Irish passport - Part 3

The process so far... Having decided I wanted to claim an Irish passport, I sought guidance from the Irish Government's Citizens Information website to see if I qualified, along with my children (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html). Having done so, and found that we do indeed qualify, I then requested the relevant passport application forms from the Irish consulate in Edinburgh and sought a copy of my Northern Irish birth certificate (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-part-2.html).


The application forms duly arrived the following day, with my birth certificate arriving a day later. For anyone wishing to apply from now, that process may perhaps take a wee bit longer, as in the light of the Brexit vote there have been well over a million requests for such passports, an extraordinary demand. Because of the Brexit vote, however, I've decided to accelerate the application for my two boys now also, so this meant ordering up a couple of extra copies of my birth certificate. I was unclear if I could send all three applications together in one go with just the one cert, so figured it was best to play it safe - and the boys will both then have copies of my birth cert in future also (I'm still a genealogist; always thinking about legacy issues! lol)

With myself and my two boys applying for passports, we visited the local photographer in Largs to get passport photos (four have to be sent through for each applicant). The guidance from the consulate states that the preference is for black and white images, although colour images are acceptable. We've ended up getting colour images as the simplest option in town. 

Along with the application forms, the consulate also sent out a guidance form on how to fill them out, along with a covering letter. I filled out the three forms and then asked a friend of mine, who is a local solicitor, to act as a witness on them. The following are suitable candidates identified by the Irish government as witnesses:

Police Officer;
Member of Clergy;
Medical Doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist, Dentist; Vet
Lawyer, Solicitor and Legal Executives (registered with the law society or Institute of Legal Executives);
Bank Official (this includes building societies, credit unions, postmasters and sub-postmasters);
Elected Public Representative (this includes members of Parliment and Councillors);
Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, Commissioner for Oaths, Peace Commissioner;
Social Worker;
Teacher, Lecturer;
Accountant.

One of the requirements on the form requires the witness to formally stamp the back of two of the passport photographs, as well as the form itself. This threw us slightly, as my friend has no formal stamp, but we soon twigged a workaround, in the very cover letter that accompanied the application forms. This states the following:

"The witness should stamp and sign the back of two of the photographs and insert the form number displayed in Section 9. Please ensure the witness is easily contactable at their place of work, that they clearly print their address and contact number (mobiles not accepted). Your application will be returned if we are unable to contact the witness or the witness does not fully and accurately complete their section(s) of the form. The witness does not need to know the applicant for any length of time provided they are satisfied as to their identity. If the witness does not have an Official Stamp then please ensure they sign and date the back of the photographs and include the 8-digit Form Number and sign and date Section 9 of the application form. Where possible, a Business Card should be enclosed if there is no stamp available."

So, with business cards duly provided for the applications, instead of a stamp, that one is resolved! As well as the signed forms, the witness also certified a copy of my driving license, as proof of identity - the alternative was to send through my current British passport, but I don't want to send off such an important document in the post. Additional requirements on the ID front include documents to verify my name and address (eg household bills, tax returns, etc), easily sourced.

The next stage now is to post off the application. The cover letter from the consulate in Edinburgh noted that there was currently a seven week turnaround on applications. I suspect that may drift a bit, but I'll know soon enough!

NB: PART 4 is available at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/claiming-irish-passport-part-4-claimed.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Claiming an Irish passport

In the wake of the UK's gut-wrenchingly shocking decision to vote for a withdrawal from the EU, a reminder of a couple of real time posts from last week on how to claim dual nationality with an Irish passport, which may be of some use to readers.

Part One: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html

Part Two: http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-part-2.html

Part Three: https://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/claiming-irish-passport-part-3.html

Part Four will be posted in due course

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Claiming an Irish passport - Part 2

Having decided now to apply for an Irish passport (see http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html), it's time to get underway.

The first step is to get the relevant application forms. The Citizens Information website at http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/travel_abroad/passports/applying_for_or_renewing_an_irish_passport.html describes the basic process for application - on this it notes that because I live outside of the Republic of Ireland, I must obtain an APS2 form, but this is unfortunately not available online.

The advice on this Citizens Information page states that "If you are living abroad you can apply in person or using ordinary or registered post to your nearest Irish embassy or consulate."  Living in Scotland, the nearest consulate to me is in Edinburgh, and so a quick search on Google reveals the relevant passport page on its website at https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/edinburgh/passports/how-to-apply-for-a-passport/. On this I was advised to contact them by email, with my home address, to request copies of the required number of APS2 forms.

Having done so, within an hour I received an email from Edinburgh notifying me that the required form will be sent by post to me this evening. We're under way! I am also advised that at present, the turn around time for successful applications is 7 weeks, although a priority service is available at additional cost. I'm happy with the seven weeks, thanks. :)

Under the Documents tab on this same page, there is a list of accompanying document types that I will need. As I am applying for an Irish passport for the first time, I am advised that I will need to obtain a copy of my long form birth certificate from the General Register Office of Northern Ireland to prove that I was indeed born in Northern Ireland. This can be done via the GENI website at https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk/. (NB: If I was a woman I would also need to obtain a civil marriage or civil partnership certificate, if my name was now different to that shown on my birth cert).

On the GENI website, rather than use the top section I would normally use to Search registrations for genealogical research, I instead need to order a birth cert from the Order Certificates section. This can all be done online, which takes a couple of minutes, as I step through various pages, providing my name, date and place of birth, and the details of my parents. Once completed, I am charged £15 all in. As I am not paying for priority postage, I am notified that it will be sent out to me by second class post.

Note that I am applying to the GRONI in Belfast because of my Northern Irish birth, but if I was from the Republic of Ireland, I would need to apply to the separate General Register Office of Ireland to obtain the southern equivalent - to do so, visit https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Apply-for-Certificates.aspx, although this is a snail mail version for which payment cannot be made online. To pay online, visit http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/bdm/Certificates/ instead.

So I've ordered the relevant application form, and a copy of my birth certificate. Now I need to wait for them to arrive...!

NB:
PART 3 at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/claiming-irish-passport-part-3.html 
PART 4 at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/claiming-irish-passport-part-4-claimed.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.

Claiming an Irish passport - Part 1

Many of you who have attended talks that I have given over the last few years might have heard me refer to the identity crisis that first led me to start researching my family history in 1999. As a child of both Irish and Scottish stock who grew up in the Northern Ireland of the Troubles, I was never comfortable with my description of 'British' or its alternative of 'Irish' - the idea that I was being labelled with an identity simply because of an accident of birth and history, which society dictated that I must adhere to, to become loyal to the ideals of one 'tribe', and not the other. Indeed, I've often jokingly referred to myself as suffering from something called Sruth na Maoile syndrome, the Gaelic phrase for the Straits of Moyle, which is the waterway that divides Scotland from Ireland - the inference being that my true identity is all at sea somewhere in between! (You can hear me discuss this in a talk I gave at St. Catherine's Ontario 2 years ago, at https://soundcloud.com/chrismpaton/genealogy-without-borders-lecture-in-niagara-may-2014).

Obviously since carrying out my ancestral research I have been able to throw all that baggage away, and discover from scratch my true identity for myself, which derives from the sum of all my ancestral parts, and not some politician's pen. As I have lived in the UK for all of my life to date, I currently have a British passport, issued by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. To me, my British passport does not indicate my identity - my family history reveals that - but it does permit me certain rights and protections as someone who has grown up in the UK when travelling. It is more than a British passport, though, in that a holder of a British passport is currently also a member of the European Union, and has the same rights in law as any other EU citizen when so doing - it's why all EU passports are the same shape, size, colour, and with similar wording. However, as you may be aware, next week we are having a referendum on whether the UK retains its membership of the European Union. As a consequence, these rights and protections as an EU citizen may soon be withdrawn.

I do not wish to give up my EU rights when travelling - and I have a way to bypass this eventuality. As someone who was born in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland, under the current rules in the Republic of Ireland I can also claim an Irish passport - indeed, so too can my children, as even though they were born in Scotland, under Irish law, they are automatically considered to be Irish citizens simply because they have Irish parents, irrespective of whether we are from the north or south (we come from each end of the island!). The Republic of Ireland is also a member of the European Union, and isn't planning on going anywhere on that front. Now, partly because of the entirely negative nature of the current UK referendum campaign, on both sides, and partly because I now feel comfortable in the fact that my true identity lies embedded across the islands of both Ireland and Britain, I have finally decided that I am going to exercise my right to claim dual citizenship. 

The ability to claim an Irish passport and hold dual citizenship is something that many people in Britain, and further afield, have enjoyed for decades. But what are the rules on eligibility? Well, it all depends on whether you have a connection to Ireland - and this is where the genealogy bit comes in! The Irish Government's Citizens Information site neatly outlines the criteria that must be fulfilled for qualification at http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html. This is the key part - for clarification, the use of the term 'Ireland' here refers to the island, encompassing both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (the 'Irish state'):

Citizenship through birth in Ireland

If you were born in Ireland and your parent(s) were Irish citizens, then you are also an Irish citizen.

However, in certain circumstances some people born in Ireland have to claim Irish citizenship. You can find more details about claiming Irish citizenship through special declaration in 'Further information' below.

Children of foreign national parents

A child born in the island of Ireland on or after 1 January 2005 is entitled to Irish citizenship if they have a British parent or a parent who is entitled to live in Northern Ireland or the Irish State without restriction on their residency. A child born in Ireland to a parent who has been granted refugee status is also automatically entitled to Irish citizenship.

Under the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004, children born of other foreign national parents in the island of Ireland on or after 1 January 2005 are not automatically entitled to Irish citizenship. These parents must prove that they have a genuine link to Ireland. This will be evidenced by their having 3 out of the previous 4 years reckonable residence in the island of Ireland immediately before the birth of the child. On proof of a genuine link to Ireland their child will be entitled to Irish citizenship and can apply for a certificate of nationality - see 'How to apply' below.

Children born outside Ireland to Irish citizen parents

If either of your parents was an Irish citizen who was born in Ireland, then you are automatically an Irish citizen, irrespective of your place of birth.

Irish citizen parents born outside Ireland

If you were born outside Ireland to an Irish citizen who was himself or herself born outside Ireland, then you are entitled to become an Irish citizen. If your parent derived Irish citizenship in another manner, for example, through marriage, adoption or naturalisation, and was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, you can become an Irish citizen.

However before you can claim Irish citizenship, you must have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register, which is maintained by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - see 'How to apply' below. If you are entitled to register, your Irish citizenship is effective from the date of registration - not from the date when you were born.

If the parent through whom you derive Irish citizenship was deceased at the time of your birth, but would have been an Irish citizen if alive at that time, you are also an Irish citizen. Also, you derive citizenship through an Irish parent whether or not your parents were married to each other at the time of your birth.

Citizenship through descent from Irish grandparents

If one of your grandparents is an Irish citizen who was born in Ireland, but none of your parents was born in Ireland, you may become an Irish citizen. You will need to have your birth registered in the Foreign Births Register.

If you are entitled to register, your Irish citizenship is effective from the date of registration. The Irish citizenship of successive generations may be maintained in this way by each generation ensuring their registration in the Foreign Births Register before the birth of the next generation.

Since 1 July 1986, a person registered in the Foreign Births Entry Book after 1986 is deemed to be an Irish citizen only from the date of his/her entry in the Register and not from the date of birth. This means that children born to that person before his/her date of entry in the Register are not entitled to citizenship.

People registered before July 1986 are deemed Irish citizens either from the date the original Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act came into force, that is, 17 July 1956, or their date of birth, whichever is later. Only children born after 17 July 1956 can claim citizenship in such cases.

Other Irish ancestors

Unless at least one parent or an Irish-born grandparent was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, you cannot claim Irish citizenship on the basis of extended previous ancestry (that is, ancestors other than your parents or grandparents). In addition, you cannot claim Irish citizenship on the basis that relation such as a cousin, aunt or uncle was an Irish citizen if none of your parents or grandparents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth.

In case it should provide some assistance to anyone else who may be interested in doing likewise, I've decided I will share my experience in claiming an Irish passport over the next few weeks.

The first stage will be to initiate the application process, and to get a copy of my birth certificate, the processes for which I will outline in due course!

NB:
PART 2 at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-part-2.html
PART 3 at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/claiming-irish-passport-part-3.html 
PART 4 at http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/claiming-irish-passport-part-4-claimed.html

Chris

For details on my genealogy guide books, including A Decade of Irish Centenaries: Researching Ireland 1912-1923, Discover Scottish Church Records (2nd edition), Discover Irish Land Records and Down and Out in Scotland: Researching Ancestral Crisis, please visit http://britishgenes.blogspot.co.uk/p/my-books.html.