Would parents register a 1903 foreign birth after returning to Ireland?

[JacknTracy]

Hello; would anyone know if it was a practice for Irish parents who were temporarily living in England for work in the early 1900's, and had a child while there, would register the birth in Ireland after returning? And would the child be considered Irish, even if born in England? Thanks in advance for any help with this!

[jorose]

It is most likely they registered the child in England.
I don't think there was any mechanism for registering a child in Ireland who was born in England, but they may have had the child baptised when they returned if it hadn't been done already.


Considered by Irish by who? Legally, if we mean before 1922, they were considered a British Subject, along with Canadians, Australians, etc. There was no seperate per-country citizenship, you were a subject of the empire, or you weren't.

Post 1922, it would depend on various factors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_nationality_law

How they identified would be a matter for them personally, although if they only lived in England a couple of  years in their youth, they probably identified as Irish.

[aghadowey]

A child born in England would have been registered in England. However, is it possible that the mother went back home to Ireland to have the child then went back to her husband in England with the child?
It also wasn't uncommon for people to move back and forth between Ireland and England.
You can certainly search for a birth registered in Ireland but might also be worth looking for a baptism.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/civil-search.jsp

[Blue70]

In those days "considered Irish" could relate to categories of race in some countries. For example one of my people who emigrated to the USA in 1913, on an immigration record, it says she was born in Liverpool, race was Irish, nationality was British.

C

[JacknTracy]

Many thanks to everyone who replied, as well as offered advice. We do know that the birth in question was registered in England (and the baptism took place there, too), but had hoped that it was a practice to register it back in the home county as well. The reason for hoping this was because a ship manifest indicated Co. Tipperary as an additional birthplace, oddly enough (and indicates Irish as the "race," along with the British citizenship) All other six siblings were born in Ireland itself. It matters for obtaining Irish citizenry by descent (grandparent) but it doesn't look like it will work out, if the physical birth was in England.
Again, all the helpfulness is much appreciated!

[Wexflyer]

There is no harm in calling the nearest Irish consulate and explaining the situation to them. They have discretion. I have a friend whose family left Ireland in the 1600s. His family got Irish citizenship. Also if your parent is still alive, he can apply. Finally, when did the family leave Ireland?

[Wexflyer]

Considered by Irish by who? Legally, if we mean before 1922, they were considered a British Subject, along with Canadians, Australians, etc. There was no seperate per-country citizenship, you were a subject of the empire, or you weren't.

How about considered Irish by the British? Long before 1922, British passenger immigration and emigration forms counted Irish, Scotch, English and aliens separately. Similarly with census returns.

[aghadowey]

We do know that the birth in question was registered in England (and the baptism took place there, too), but had hoped that it was a practice to register it back in the home county as well. The reason for hoping this was because a ship manifest indicated Co. Tipperary as an additional birthplace, oddly enough (and indicates Irish as the "race," along with the British citizenship) All other six siblings were born in Ireland itself. It matters for obtaining Irish citizenry by descent (grandparent) but it doesn't look like it will work out, if the physical birth was in England.

This puts a slightly different slant on your query.
As the birth was registered in England and the child was baptised there it is extremely likely that the ship manifest is incorrect- possibly just assuming the child was born in Ireland like parents and siblings. The child's race would be Irish even though the citizenship was British and there would have been no need to register the child with an Irish consulate as the registration would not have changed the nationality before 1921.
You haven't said where the family ended up but it's not unusual to find mistakes in records. When researching my cousin's family I discovered the great-grandmother was listed on one U.S. census record as being born in 'Cardiff, Ireland' which led me to finding the Irish-born parents from Co. Cork living in Cardiff few a few years before taking a ship to New York. The family always counted themselves as Irish and I don't think Wales was ever mentioned in later years.

[MollyC]

Mistakes in records

In the Canadian census I have found "Race = Irish" when father had been taken to live in Ireland in early childhood, by virtue of his Welsh father being in the army.  His mother and birthplace were English.  "Irish" must have been a perception of his memories of childhood and youth.