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Acquiring grandfather's civil birth record for Irish citizenship

ClareDrumcliff (Clare)

My husband would like to apply for Irish citizenship through his grandfather, John Joseph Carmody, baptized at Drumcliff 24 February 1862. I've found the baptismal register image for John Joseph Carmody at Ancestry.com, but the application information says my husband needs an original (civil) birth certificate.

Who (what office) should I contact in County Clare to request a civil birth certificate? Was civil registration of births even done in 1862? If not, then who do I contact to obtain a document meeting the requirements for the application? I assume printing the register page from Ancestry.com will not suffice.

I realize with the current Covid situation, many offices are closed, or if open, are backlogged from when they were closed. I'd like to make sure my request for this record goes to the correct place the first time, rather than spending time waiting, only to find out we should have requested it elsewhere.

Thank you for any guidance you can provide! This is just one of many documents we have to gather, but it is the only one needed from Ireland.

Christine Haws Bauman

cvhbauman@gmail.com

5 replies

Hi,

Civil Registration of Births came into force from January 1st 1864, so you will be unable to go down that route.

Usually where a birth certificate was needed, but not available, a confirmation by some person who knew the individual was procured. You may be able to get this via baptismal record, school records and death record to satisfy the requirement.

Regards,

McCoy

Thank you for the quick reply!. I had seen the 1864 date, but wasn't sure if different areas may have started at different times.

That brings me back to my 2nd question, how do I obtain (who do I contact?) to request a suitable certificate based on the baptismal record I've viewed online?

Thanks again,

Christine

cvhbauman@gmail.com

Hi,

Contact Rev. Thomas Ryan, P. P. Ennis - email: info@ennisparish.ie.

The baptismal certificate will have an embossed stamp, so for the purpose of clarification it may be necessary to have it forwarded to you by ordinary mail.

Regards,

McCoy

Many thanks to you both! 

Roger, I apologize, I must have been typing my reply while your message came in, so I didn't see it until this morning, when I refreshed the page. I don't want you to feel I'd ignored you!

I will begin making my inquiries. I realize the baptismal certficate will have to be mailed, rather than a digital image provided. I'm quite sure the Department of Foreign Affairs requires the imprint for it to be an "official" document.

Of course, Covid is going to slow down what's already a somewhat slow process. Most of our state and county government offices are closed (or working half-staffed right now), and still dealing with the existing backlog. I expect delays in obtaining some of the documents I need to request here in the USA.

Maybe it'll be done by the time we travel to Ennis in 2022?

cvhbauman@gmail.com

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