Foreign Birth Application problem

[Chubbygordito]

Hi all.

Wondered if anybody can give me some advice about how to proceed.

Basically I want to apply for Irish citizenship.

My grandmother was born in Ireland and so I want to claim through her. My father was born in London.

The issue I have is with my grandmothers date of birth.

The date of birth on her birth certificate is different to that on her marriage and death certificates. The marriage and death certificates have a date in 1914, whereas her birth certificate has a date in 1909.

According to what was told to my father, in 1928 she was arrested for carrying guns for the IRA. At the time she claimed to be born in 1914, and at 14 years old, she never got sent to prison. However in reality, she was 19, and so legally an adult.....and I assume would have possibly been put in prison or shot!

Anyway, the issue is, will the Irish embassy accept the documents with 2 different birth dates? The marriage and death certificates show her parents etc, and I've even got a copy of the 1911 census that she's recorded on with the rest of her family.

I suppose best to make an appointment at the embassy in London and see what they say?

[PasadenaTom]

No doubt the embassy would be the best source of information. But others here have said that DFA does seem to give some latitude when it comes to dates. My grandparents marriage certificate did not have birth dates. It did have their ages, but neither was correct. What probably made up for that discrepancy is that my grandfather's parents names on his marriage certificate matched those on his birth certificate. It would be one thing if you presented a birth certificate for "Michael O'Rourke, son of Daniel O'Rourke and Ellen Hogan", and the marriage certificate said "son of John O'Rourke and Eileen Flanagan". The fact that they match should work in your favor.

It may not hurt to explain your grandmother's situation in a cover letter. If everything else matches, your explanation sounds quite plausible (at least to this Yank, whose knowledge of the political situation in Ireland in 1928 is imperfect).

[bostonceltics]

I am just over 3 months into the 6 month process.

I applied via London in July (UK based) and in my instance, my grandmothers DOB on birth and death certificates are the same but she lied to my grandfather regarding her age and therefore, she is 4 years younger on the marriage cert. She also changed her first name when she came to England (different times in the 1930s )

Like PasadenaTom suggested, you are best off checking with the London Embassy but I believe an unsuccessful application results in a refund of the Euro 270 and you just lose the Euro 8 admin/post fee. Although, if you look on some of the previous postings, there are some people who are successful despite anomalies with paperwork.

[PasadenaTom]

...grandmothers DOB on birth and death certificates are the same but she lied to my grandfather regarding her age and therefore, she is 4 years younger on the marriage cert.

Ha! I have a feeling my grandmother was also less than truthful with my grandfather about her age. Some records make it appear she was a year older than him. But her birth record, Irish census records, and steamship passenger records show that she was almost four years older than him. Even her grave stone has the wrong birth year. Perhaps in those days (1920s), a woman who was 32-33 years old when she married thought it more socially acceptable to shave off a few years.

[bostonceltics]

Ha! I have a feeling my grandmother was also less than truthful with my grandfather about her age. Some records make it appear she was a year older than him. But her birth record, Irish census records, and steamship passenger records show that she was almost four years older than him. Even her grave stone has the wrong birth year. Perhaps in those days (1920s), a woman who was 32-33 years old when she married thought it more socially acceptable to shave off a few years.
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I think it was the equivalent of what people do nowadays on Online Dating, as it is common place for people to shave a few years off to move into a lower age category.