Irish Travel Permit Card 30's to 40's (ish)

[Miriam_90]

Hello,

My great grandad had a Travel Permit Card from the 30's and 40's when  he used to work mostly in construction in the UK. It shows his visa and where he was working. It's a great piece of family history. Now, I have cousins who left Ireland to work in Wales in between the 30s and 40s. Not sure why Wales instead of England. At least one of them died there. I assume they would have needed the same thing.

My question is if anybody knows where I might find these records? NIL or NAI? I can't seem to find any records myself.

[Sinann]

There is a bit here about the requirement to have a travel permit but I don't think it's clear who issued them.
https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=10-a-muldowney-new-opportunities&site=15

It's an interest read non the less re who was entitled to get one, how many were issued and why they went.

Lots on line about the cards but I can't find what department issued them does it say on the card you have?

[Elwyn Soutter]

Lots on line about the cards but I can't find what department issued them does it say on the card you have?

The article indicates that the Irish Travel Permits (ie those for Irish citizens) were issued by An Garda Siochana (the Irish police). See page 2, penultimate paragraph.  If any records of them survive – and I suspect they don’t, because Irish genealogists would probably be aware of them – then I would expect them to be in the National Archives in Dublin.

From other discussions about these documents elsewhere, my understanding is they were in use from 1939 to about 1950.

The UK issued its citizens with National Identity cards during the war, and they were acceptable for travel to and from Ireland, in lieu of a passport, during the wartime period.

[Miriam_90]

Thanks guys.

It's such a pity as it would answered a few questions for us. Sadly a breakdown in a marriage back in the 20s meant contact with these guys was very limited. We know they came home to visit their dad in Clondalkin in the late 40s but we don't think they came back again until his funeral in 1981.

I'll see what more I scrounge up but this may be a dead end in the family tree.

[Sinann]

Lots on line about the cards but I can't find what department issued them does it say on the card you have?

The article indicates that the Irish Travel Permits (ie those for Irish citizens) were issued by An Garda Siochana (the Irish police). See page 2, penultimate paragraph.  If any records of them survive – and I suspect they don’t, because Irish genealogists would probably be aware of them – then I would expect them to be in the National Archives in Dublin.

From other discussions about these documents elsewhere, my understanding is they were in use from 1939 to about 1950.

The UK issued its citizens with National Identity cards during the war, and they were acceptable for travel to and from Ireland, in lieu of a passport, during the wartime period.

I didn't take that up the same way as you, I thought that was yet another type of card, an ID card not the permit but you may well be correct.

The applications could be sitting in a store room somewhere getting musty, maybe they will see the light of day again sometime for the moment I can't see anything except how many permits were issued.
They look like they would be a great resource.