DNA proof paves way to an Irish passport

There's an interesting article in the Irish Times showing how a US academic called John Portmann was successfully able to use DNA proof via Ancestry.com to gain an Irish passport. Portmann was able to show through his DNA research that his father was from Dublin ad his mother from Co. Kilkenny, albeit following a court case in Arizona, USA. You can read the article at https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/07/21/dna-detectives-help-adopted-american-man-who-never-knew-biological-parents-to-obtain-irish-citizenship/.

A reminder that there is a useful gudie to obtaining an Irish passport on the RootsIreland website at https://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/, and that my own journey to obtain Irish passports for myself and my two sons here in Scotland has been documented on this blog, starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html.

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

Passport applications 1845-1916 held at Edinburgh City Archives

Vivienne Dunstan has written an interesting blog post on passports issued between 1845 and 1916 which are held by Edinburgh City Archives (www.edinburgh.gov.uk/managing-information/edinburgh-city-archives-1/3), and which have been digitised and made available on Ancestry (www.ancestry.co.uk). Applications were sent to the Edinburgh Lord Provost from all over Lowland Scotland, including Glasgow, Angus and the Scottish Borders. 

To read Vivienne's blog post visit https://vivsacademicblog.wordpress.com/2024/05/09/19th-century-scottish-passport-records/. The collection on Ancestry is entitled "Edinburgh, Scotland, Lord Provost Passports, 1845-1916" (www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62350/), with over 17000 entries.

Note that passports were not compulsory for overseas travel until 1914. FindmyPast (www.findmypast.co.uk) also host a useful collection entitled 'Index To Register Of Passport Applications 1851-1903', documenting additional Scots who may have applied in that peirod. The source for these is the National Archives in England, in series FO 611.

(With thanks to Vivienne)

Chris

Order Tracing Your Belfast Ancestors in the UK at https://bit.ly/BelfastAncestors. Also available - Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records, Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. For purchase in tthe USA visit https://www.penandswordbooks.com. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, on Threads at @scottishgenesblog and via Mastodon at https://mastodon.scot/@ScottishGENES.

How to claim Irish citizenship - Facebook panel session

From the Irish Family History Centre in Dublin, news of a special panel discussion this Friday from 5-6pm, which may be of interest to anyone wishing to claim Irish citizenship and a passport:

Everyone wants to be Irish, right? 

As a company passionate about our Irish roots we've decided to host an upcoming Live at Five special to discuss citizenship options for those with Irish ancestry.

 

We will be joined by our good friends at Fragomen (a global firm that provides citizenship and immigration services) and EPIC! The Irish Emigration Museum to discuss the process for claiming Irish citizenship. We’ll also share some insights and examples from our experience here at the IFHC and beyond.

 

There will be the chance to win a family history consultation and an eligibility consultation during this not to be missed Live at Five special.

Register for the free event at https://www.facebook.com/events/3279652142358492.

NB: For anyone here in Scotland who may be interested, I have recorded how I claimed my Irish passport in 2016 via a series of blog posts starting at http://britishgenes.blogspot.com/2016/06/claiming-irish-passport-1.html, and which first involved having to get the relevant application form from the Irish consulate at Edinburgh. As I am Irish born, from Northern Ireland, it was relatively straightforward, as indeed it was for my kids, who although born in Scotland, were automatically Irish citizens through the fact that their parents were both Irish (their mother is also from Kilkenny).  

It gets a little trickier if your connection goes back to a grandparent, but you can find more about this at https://www.rootsireland.ie/help/help-civil-records/how-to-apply-for-an-irish-passport/.

Chris

My new book Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records is now available to buy at https://bit.ly/IrishLandRecords. Also available - Sharing Your Family History Online, Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd ed), and Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records - to purchase, please visit https://bit.ly/ChrisPatonPSbooks. Further news published daily on The Scottish GENES Facebook page, and on Twitter @genesblog.