Dual Irish/US Citizenship

I just found some relevant British case law, Hyde v Hyde, decided in 1866. I am taking the information from the Wikipedia article about this case. "Lord Penzance found that institutions in foreign countries (including marriage) cannot be considered as valid under English law, unless they resemble the equivalent English institution. With respect to marriage, English law could therefore not recognise either polygamy or concubinage as marriage."

This would imply that my grandmother was effectively an Irish citizen when my grandfather was born, which I think could open up my situation to apply for Irish citizenship.

massmanute:

Here is my unofficial opinion--If Franklin was not born in Ireland, then I don't see any way you could claim Irish citizenship using the Foreign Birth process  https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/citizenship/born-abroad/registering-a-foreign-birth/

Roger McDonnell

I believe you are right--that if Susannah was an Irish citizen, then her son was too, no matter where he was born.

I know a family in the U.S. where one of the parents was born in Ireland. Their children, born in NY, were automatically Irish citizens and did not have to apply for citizenship, only passports.

There are individuals specializing in obtaining Irish citizenship; you might want to google to find one.

Good luck!

A bigamous marriage is void, ab initio, and so has no effect. (It doesn’t necessarily necessarily need a court to declare it void. If one of the parties was already married, then the second ceremony had no validity. I think that’s common ground in most jurisdictions). Consequently it would have no implications for your great grandmother’s British citizenship. That would have been unaffected.

But I am not sure I see how Susannah retaining her British Citizenship overcomes modern Irish law which only entertains a citizenship claim from someone whose grandparent was born in Ireland, not a great-grandparent. As I understand it, Franklin needed to be born in Ireland for you to have a claim.

But why not ask the Irish Embassy in the US? I am sure you could e-mail their consular section and ask.

Thanks for the responses so far... good idea about contacting the Irish Embassy in the US. (I did send a message to the office in Ireland that handles naturalization, using the contact page, but I have not received a reply, or even an acknowledgment of receiving my message.)

On the question of citizenship through a great grandparent, it makes the process of acquiring Irish citizenship easier, but unlike the situation of citizenship through a grandparent, the decision on an application for Irish citizenship through a great grandparent is at the discretion of the office in Ireland that handles those things, and it is my understanding that it generally requires showing a significant connection to Ireland in addition to being a great grandchild, such as by living in Ireland for a few years.

Here are links to a couple of web pages that explain how it works.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving-country/irish-citizenship/…

https://www.irishimmigration.ie/how-to-become-a-citizen/applications-ba…

Hi again, I hope to continue the discussion. Briefly, I think it is clear from the previous discussion here, as well as relevant case law, that my great grandmother (who was born on Irish soil) was an Irish citizen when my grandfather was born.

There is a process for gaining Irish citizenship through a great grandparent born in Ireland. It is not automatic, and it requires the applicant to show strong ties to Ireland. Normally this means that the great grandchild must live in Ireland for about three years, and in any case the decision is entirely at the discretion of the office in Ireland that handles citizenship applications.

The thought occurred to me, I wonder if I learned the Irish language then Ireland might waive the usual requirement for residence in the country. To put it another way, would learning the language demonstrate a close enough relationship to Ireland to take the place of residing in Ireland? Ok, it's a long shot, and obviously, nobody here could give an official or definitive answer, but I'm interested in your thoughts

Thanks.

The thought occurred to me, I wonder if I learned the Irish language then Ireland might waive the usual requirement for residence in the country. To put it another way, would learning the language demonstrate a close enough relationship to Ireland to take the place of residing in Ireland? Ok, it's a long shot, and obviously, nobody here could give an official or definitive answer, but I'm interested in your thoughts

Perhaps you might contact the Irish Dept. of Foreign Affairs, which I believe issues passports/grants citizenship.  It would be able to answer your query, whereas the posters here would likely be engaging in conjecture. Good luck!

Thanks Patricia. Good idea.