Applying for an Irish passport

[alpinecottage]

I'm helping my brother apply for an Irish passport on the grounds we have an Irish-born grandfather.

My grandfather was born on 9 April 1882, according to the 1939 register.  His age at marriage and death accord with this.  His father was James too, and family lore records he came from Galway (county, not town) and he was Catholic.  Unfortunately, his birth doesn't appear on the irishgenealogy.ie records.

My questions are
1. Are Irish birth records held like the English ones; registered at the local Registry Office, then forwarded to the central Register Office?
2. If so, are the irishgenealogy records those held at the central Registry and can one approach the local register office to ask for their records to be checked?
3. If his birth wasn't registered (and some of his siblings' don't seem to have been), will the Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade authorities accept a baptismal record to issue a foreign-born birth certificate?
4. The parish records that are freely available for Boyounagh (the parish in question) go up to 1881, but I understand later records are available on the pay-to-view site Rootsireland.ie.  Does anyone know if these are images of parish records or just transcriptions?

Thanks in advance 

[myluck!]

What was James' last name?!
Also did he marry in a catholic church? if yes, they may have a record of his baptism as it would have been required to ensure he was free to marry

[alpinecottage]

Surname was Comer.

Yes, he married in Manchester in St Wilfrid's RC church.  The church is closed now, I think.

[Sinann]

RootsIreland is only transcripts, but if you have the parish name they could supply you with a certified copy (ie with parish stamp) of his baptism.

[Sinann]

Have you kept in mind that his birth could have been registered late so his parents may have fibbed about the date he was born to avoid the fine.

[alpinecottage]

Sinann, thank you. 

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if his birth was registered late - most of his siblings were baptised before they were born!!  ie they were baptised then when someone got round to going to the register office, the birth date was "moved" to avoid the fine.  But James doesn't seem to be there at all. (He is not the James Comer of Moyglass born about a year later, as that one died in Moyglass after my grandfather died in Manchester).

The question of whether the Dept of Foreign Affairs would accept a baptismal record remains - not much point getting official copies if we can't proceed to the passport stage.

[myluck!]

possible baptism on Apr 21 1882 in Glenamaddy (Boynnagh)

census 1911 LINK
with widowed mother and two siblings

Most of my relatives in that area were baptised before they were born also!

[alpinecottage]

Brilliant, myluck!, thank you.

Can anyone else comment on my first three more general questions, though I realise I could shoot off some emails when the offices reopen.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Birth registration followed the English system. Local offices sent copies up to the Central Office in Dublin. Today the service is now run from Roscommon. Not sure if the local office still has copies but why not ring and enquire?

You can order a certified copy (such as is needed for a passport application) of a civil certificate from GRO Roscommon.

https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Apply-for-Certificates.aspx

Regarding the civil birth certificate, have you searched with the forename blank? In the earlier days of birth registration in Ireland many births were registered without a forename. Just the parents names and other details. Always worth searching using that criterion.

Regarding whether a baptism certificate will suffice instead of a birth certificate I’d suggest you contact the Irish Embassy or passport office for a definitive answer.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html