Step 1. Gather Information.

According to the instructions for applying to the Foreign Births Registry (Form FB1A), the following is the documentation needed for obtaining dual Irish citizenship:

Grandparent:
1. Full/long form Irish Birth Certificate
2. Marriage license application and Marriage Certificate – showing grandparents’ names, places of birth and ages at the time of marriage, and showing great-grandparents’ names and, if possible, places of birth. (*Please see note on required documentation for more information on acceptable marriage certificates*)
3. Death Certificate; or, if grandparent is still living an authenticated copy of grandparent’s current ID (Irish or US passport). This authenticated copy may be signed by your witness or notarized. Please do not mail original ID.
Parent:
4. Full/long form Birth Certificate showing grandparents’ names, places of birth and ages at the time of birth. Birth Certificates which do not contain this information are not sufficient in themselves to establish a clear relationship to the Irish-born grandparent.
5. Marriage license application and Marriage Certificate, showing parents’ names, places of birth and ages at the time of marriage and, showing grandparents’ names and, if possible, places of birth. (*Please see note on required documentation for more info on marriage certificates*)
6. Death Certificate or an authenticated copy of parent’s current ID (Drivers license, Irish or US passport). This authenticated copy may be signed by your witness or notarized. Please do not mail original ID.
Applicant:
7. Correctly completed and witnessed Foreign Births Registration application.
-Form FB1A should be completed for applicants 18 years of age and over.
-Form FB1B should be completed for applicants under 18.
-Section E of the application must be completed by any one of the listed professionals who is PERSONALLY KNOWN to you. You may not be identified to this person by a photo ID. However,  you may be introduced to this person by a third party; that is, someone who is personally known to you AND the witness. A notary public is not an acceptable witness.
8. Two recent identical passport type photos, which must all be signed and dated on the reverse by the witness who completes Section E.
-The date on the photos must match the date in Section D.
-In the case of minor applicants (Form FB1B), two photos of the applicant/child and two photos of the declarant/parent must be submitted. All four photos must be signed and dated by the witness.
9. Full/long form Birth Certificate, showing parents’ names, places of birth and ages at the time of birth. Birth certificates which do not contain this information are not sufficient in themselves to establish a clear relationship to the parent.
10. Change of name documentation – this may include a marriage certificate in the case the name was changed at the time of marriage, or a legal name change document issued by the courts.
11. Authenticated copy of your valid photo ID (state drivers license or US passport only). This notarized copy of photo ID must be submitted for all applicants regardless of age. This authenticated copy may be signed by your witness or notarized. Please do not mail original ID.
12. Two original proofs of residence at the address listed on the application. Acceptable proofs of residence include utility bills (gas, electric, cable, telephone, etc) or bank statements. For applicants under the age of 18, the proofs of residence may list the parents’ names in lieu of the applicant’s.

It may seem like a long list, but it really isn't that bad!  Luckily I have family members who can help me acquire the documents for my grandparents - who have been deceased now approximately 20 and 30 years, respectively.  The toughest part in getting my own documents is finding a witness for my FB1A form.  I mean... who the heck should I ask to witness this?  The choices are:

Member of the Clergy
Medical Doctor
School Principal
Bank Manager
Lawyer
Police Officer
Judge

How many people in those professions do you know personally?  Okay, fine... but how many of those would you ask to witness and basically "notarize" your documents?  Yeah... it's kind of weird.  It's like picking a Godparent or something.  "Hi, Doctor... I've chosen you to be the witness to my citizenship documentation.  Do you accept?"

Introduction

Hello!  My name is Lisa and I've just begun my journey into obtaining dual Irish citizenship (I am currently only a mere American citizen).

About ten or fifteen years ago I learned that if one has a grandparent who is/was an Irish citizen, you can request dual citizenship from Ireland.  It sounded too good to be true, so I begun to research this topic for more details.  At that time, websites weren't as rich with information as they are now... and my access to the Internet was not thriving either.

Fast forward to 2011 - add a flourishing world wide web and a dissatisfaction with current U.S. politics, and you'll get a tiny flash of remembrance in my brain.  "Oh yes!  I should check on that and see how difficult it is to obtain dual citizenship to Ireland!"

Frankly, it doesn't seem particularly difficult.  Of course, this could be a case of "Famous Last Words", but I'm hoping for the best.

It seems as though all you essentially need is the birth certificate, marriage license and death certificate (or current ID) of your parent and grandparent of Irish lineage.  (I've truncated the details of the necessary documents for the sake of brevity, so please don't take this as an accurate list.)  I spoke with my father, (he's the Irish gent), who spoke with his sister, who is going to help me compile this information.

And so that is where it has begun.  I thought I would start this blog for complementary reading for those of you who are thinking of embarking on a similar journey.  I know I'm not the only one who obsessively researches on new projects.  So hopefully I will keep up with bringing the latest details in my quest.