Birth certificates

[elsaesmeralda]

If I wanted to send off for a birth certificate of a grandparent I didn't know who was born in Ireland, would I still need to provide full details like mother's maiden name etc ? I know uk legislation states full details to protect against identity fraud but not sure how you're meant to research a family tree otherwise when you don't know hardly anything

Thanks

Anyone ?

You might get a quicker response in the family history/genealogy topic :)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/genealogy

Thank you 😊

What information do you already have OP, and what time are you looking for? (i.e. roughly what year was she born?) You may find some census information online that can help fill in the gaps, but otherwise I'm a bit confused about what you think you'll get - are you imagining sending off for a birth certificate with your grandmothers full name and date of birth but no other info? Do you know precisely where she was born (parish, address, that level of info?) Do you have her parents first names at least?

I know possible birth month and definite year of birth. I know full name, I also know their fathers name. That's literally it. It's so hard because there isn't really anyone in my family alive to tell me any more than that
I also have their marriage certificate but it doesn't tell me much
I keep coming up with a possible match on ancestry, but that's it

I've sent off for loads. If you know the name and roughly the year they were born and area you can search the GRO on various websites (freeBMD is a good one). Once you find a likely match you use the reference on the record to send off for the certificate. I've never had an issue applying for any and it's usually £11.

I believe a lot of Irelands central records were "lost". I believe there was a fire.

I was researching my Dads side and discovered my nan ( Dads mum, i never met her) was brought up in a home- she was illegitimate. I tried to get her birth cert but no joy. I know now ( through living family and their local community in Ireland) my nans mum was young and not married and nans Dad was married but no idea who he was . This was all well over a 100 yrs ago. No parents for nan and no record/cert. Lost in the fire? I then discovered nan was not married either when she had my Dad- but they kept in touch, he was in a home also as a child. I cannot find his records either ( 1930's). It is like they both never existed?

I have found there is also a wall of silence in Ireland OP around births etc from those days. Not only officially ( the fire) but within my family itself. Most remaining/surviving records in Dub Castle. You should go there to see what you can find. I personally found nothing.

Do you know where yr grandparent was born? If so, go there. There will be someone near that address that knows and has had information passed down to them. Even now when i visit my Dads half siblings in Ireland , aged in their 90's ( nan married and had 10 further children) i can see they know more than they are saying. My cousins in Ireland and me are all trying to solve this before that last link goes . They ( the elders) will not talk and parish priest is neither use nor ornament. I suspect Op , some things will always be left unanswered.

From my experience when you cannot find records in Ireland, there is something within them you were never supposed to know ! I, like you cannot trace my family without my nans birth cert but, no one seems to know where that is?. I have no names for her parents either so the investigation stops there. People who clearly never wanted to be found, have not been. It is not easy to trace family in Ireland.

Have you posted this on Craicnet? Great resources there.

If it’s Republic of Ireland records you are after check out this free website.
www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/
You won’t get the actual record but will get the original register which still contains a lot of information.

Once you have more info doing the legwork it is easier to apply for a certificate. I did this last year. A word of warning l it is taking longer than the 3 weeks quoted on their website.

If it’s the north, sadly that is more difficult . As pp said a fire destroyed a lot of records . Can’t even find my Dads and he is still alive.

It's the Republic of Ireland, Dublin to be precise.
I have used the irishgeneology website, no luck at all.
I can find him on ancestry through his death certificate but no records of his birth in Ireland which is just really strange.
I have since been given a narrower location in Dublin and a former middle name, looks like the middle name may have been changed when he came to England, but still having no luck. It's so annoying 😆