Irish in USA and the diaspora

47 questions, answered plainly.

What is the Foreign Births Registration, and who qualifies?

It is the register, kept by the Department of Foreign Affairs, that makes a person born outside Ireland an Irish citizen through a grandparent.

What documents do I need for a Foreign Births Registration application?

Build the chain in originals.

Does my child qualify if I register my own foreign birth after they are born?

No, and the Department of Foreign Affairs states the rule without softening it: if an expectant parent is not on the Foreign Births Register when the child is born, the child will…

What is the difference between citizenship by descent and the Foreign Births Register?

Citizenship by descent is the wider idea: Irish citizenship passed down through a parent.

Can I claim Irish citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Not directly.

How do I get an Irish passport for the first time as an adult abroad?

Apply through Passport Online, the Irish Passport Service's online system, which is the route the Department of Foreign Affairs directs first-time applicants abroad to use.

Where can I research Irish ancestors in the United States?

Start where the records are richest: with the ancestor's life in America, before trying Ireland.

How do I find the passenger list for an ancestor who sailed to America?

Since 1820, United States law has required every arriving ship to hand over a list of its passengers, the ship's manifest, and those lists survive in the National Archives.

What is the difference between Castle Garden and Ellis Island?

They are the same job in two buildings, forty years apart.

Were immigrants' names really changed at Ellis Island?

No.

Where do I find US naturalization records for an Irish ancestor?

Everything turns on one date: 27 September 1906.

What can US census records tell me about an Irish ancestor?

More than families expect, if you read the columns in order.

Which records are held in Ireland and which in America?

The records divide by where the event happened.

How do I trace an ancestor who came through Canada?

Plenty of the poorest Famine emigrants did, because the fare to Quebec was cheaper than the fare to New York.

How many Americans claim Irish ancestry?

In the 2024 American Community Survey, 32.4 million United States residents, 9.5 percent of the population, claimed Irish ancestry.

How many people around the world claim Irish ancestry?

The Irish Government's working estimate is around 70 million people worldwide: roughly ten times the population of the island of Ireland.

Which countries have the biggest Irish populations outside Ireland?

The United States first, by a distance: 32.4 million people claimed Irish ancestry in the 2024 American Community Survey.

What does Scots-Irish mean?

It is the American name for the descendants of the Ulster Scots: mainly Presbyterian families from the Scottish Lowlands, with some from the north of England, who were settled in…

How many people left Ireland during the Great Famine?

An estimated 2.1 million people emigrated from Ireland between 1845 and 1855: more, in ten years, than had left in the previous two centuries.

What were the coffin ships?

The name given to the worst of the emigrant ships of 1847, the Famine's deadliest year.

When is Irish American Heritage Month?

March.

What is the most common Irish surname in America?

Murphy.

What Irish American heritage sites should I see in the United States?

Start with the two places that tell the story from opposite ends.

What can I see at the Irish Hunger Memorial in New York?

A half acre of Ireland lifted 25 feet above the street.

What Irish heritage sites can I visit in Boston?

Walk the Irish Heritage Trail.

What is the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany?

A museum devoted to the Irish in America, in downtown Albany, created by the New York State Legislature in 1986 and permanently chartered as an educational institution in 1992.

What Irish cultural centres exist in American cities, and what do they run?

The pattern is the same in most cities: a hall, a library, a bar that funds both, and a programme that runs all year.

What is Milwaukee Irish Fest, and is it worth travelling for?

Yes, if Irish music is the point of the trip.

What happens at the Kansas City Irish Fest?

Three days over the Labor Day weekend at Crown Center in Kansas City, on a site in the middle of the city rather than a fairground outside it.

Where are the biggest St Patrick's Day parades in America?

New York City's is the oldest and the largest: the first parade marched on 17 March 1762, and around two million people now line Fifth Avenue.

What are the Highland games and Celtic festivals in America, and where do Irish traditions fit in?

The games are Scotland's, and honest answers start there: the heavy events (caber toss, stone put, hammer and weight throws), the piping and the Highland dancing were clan…

How do I find Irish music sessions and dance classes in my US city?

Work three routes.

What is the Dublin Irish Festival in Ohio?

A city-run Irish festival in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus that leans into its name.

How do I plan a roots trip around a specific townland?

Do the paper work before the plane ticket.

What should I bring on a roots trip, and what should I leave at home?

Bring copies, leave originals at home.

Can I visit the house or farm my ancestors lived in?

Sometimes, and only ever by permission.

How do I get in touch with distant relatives in Ireland before a visit?

Start long before you travel.

Where did Irish emigrants sail from, and where did they land?

From almost every Irish port with a quay, but Cobh, then called Queenstown, in County Cork was the great southern gateway, and Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Waterford and Galway all ran emigrant traffic.

Is there a museum of Irish emigration in Dublin?

Yes: EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, in the vaults of the CHQ Building on Custom House Quay in Dublin's Docklands.

My ancestor's records just say 'Ireland'. How do I find the county?

This is the normal problem, not a dead end.

What do I need before moving back to Ireland permanently?

Sort the paper before the plane.

How do I get a PPS number after moving to Ireland?

You apply after you arrive, not before: returning emigrants cannot use the service for people living abroad.

Can I exchange my US or Canadian driving licence for an Irish one?

Not if it is American.

What is Transfer of Residence relief when I ship my belongings to Ireland?

It is the customs relief that lets you bring your household goods and personal belongings, including a private car, into Ireland free of customs duty and VAT when you move here…

How do I bring my dog or cat when moving to Ireland?

From the United States, which is a listed country, there is no quarantine and no rabies blood test, but the order of steps matters.

What is the Habitual Residence Condition, and why does it matter when moving back?

It is the test the Department of Social Protection applies before paying most social welfare, and being an Irish citizen does not exempt you: you must show your life is centred in…

What help exists for Irish emigrants thinking of coming home?

Two organisations exist for exactly this, both funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and both free.

Useful pages: Irish in USA · The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · Coming home · Irish around the world

Sources

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