Irish grandfather foreign born during WW1 (Mauritius) - eligibility for irish citizenship query

joker wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:53 am

Ireland didn't exist in 1916 so how could someone register of a country yet to be born

Emjay27 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:40 am

Hello,
My grandfather was born in Mauritius in 1916, to an Irish born soldier during WW1.
His birth was registered as a foreign birth in the Irish Civil Registration Index 1845-1958 in Dublin. This seems to have been due to the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriage (Army) Act 1879 enabling Irish servicemen to verify their marriage and offspring birth details for legal purposes during WW1 if they had children born abroad (more of his children were also born elsewhere on other military postings to Malta and England).
My grandfather went on to have his own children, including my father in England in 1940. My father was not/has not registered on the FBR before my birth in Australia in 1985.
I'm getting the impression that entitlement to citizenship by descent stops with my father (based on his Irish born grandfather...the soldier).
However my grandfather's nationality is also Irish....born whilst his father was on military posting to Mauritius. He never acquired another citizenship.
I'm not sure if there are privisions made for military service as a 'public service' during the war....and if my grandfather can in effect be deemed to be 'born on the island of Ireland' due to these circumstances. I can't find anything specific on this kind of situation.

Any info would be much appreciated. Is anyone else in this situation with war time births?

Sulla wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 09, 2019 1:33 pm

Actually, the forum member Jaxx is probably the best placed to give you advice on this. His father was born on a military base and as far as I remember still had to be added to the FBR himself.

As DanaMarie suggests, the other thread has more info. I advise posting your query there and you will probably attract a broader range of responses.

I don’t definitely know the answer on this one. My feeling though is that you are correct in assuming that the citizenship eligibility chain ends with your father. He could still register his birth, but under the 1986 Irish nationality act, his date of registration will become his date of citizenship commencement. That will mean (in my view) you will not be able to claim Irish nationality through FBR as you were born before your parent became a citizen.

I also think that since your great grandfather was in the service of the British Empire at the time of your grandfather’s birth, it may not be possible to claim birth to someone in Irish public service. I assume that the fact that your grandfather’s birth was registered as a foreign birth is a strong indication that the argument for him being considered as born on the island of Ireland is unlikely to be accepted.