Free State of Ireland

Lynn,

There’s a long answer to your question and a short one. I’d say you need the short one.

Most of Ireland gained independence from the UK in 1922 and was then known as the Irish Free State. 6 counties remained part of the UK (Antrim, Down, Armagh, Tyrone, Fermanagh & Londonderry/Derry) and were/are known as Northern Ireland. In 1949 the Irish Free State left the British Commonwealth and formally became known as the Republic of Ireland (or just Ireland for most practical purposes).

Your ancestor who gave “Free State of Ireland” as their place of birth in 1930 was therefore saying they were from the 26 counties that now form the Republic of Ireland. That narrows your search a bit but still leaves a wide area.

Jacqueline,

I cannot see a birth in Ireland that matches the date you have given.

Hannon/Hannan is a fairly common name. There’s 7 or 8 aged around 1 in the 1901 Irish census, and a similar number aged around 11 in 1911. Can you provide Martin’s father’s name and occupation from the 1930 marriage to try and identify the right family?

Jacqueline,

Here’s the only Martin, son of Martin that I could find in the 1901 Irish census. It’s not a perfect fit. Father’s occupation is farmer not labourer and Martin jr was born in December 1897, not 1900, but dates of birth were often guesses in those days (people often didn’t know when they were born) so I wouldn’t rely too heavily on the date you have. It may just have been made up to satisfy officialdom.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Sligo/Killaraght/Lomcl…

The above family had left Co. Sligo by the time of the 1911 census. Have you looked for your Martin in the 1911 English census, in case they had all gone there? (Another possibility is they went back to the US as I see 2 of the children were born there).

Birth cert for Martin junior:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…