Born outside Ireland?

Foreign Birth Registration - Guidelines for Applicants

You are automatically an Irish citizen if one of your parents was an Irish citizen and was born in Ireland. You don’t need to apply to become an Irish citizen in this case.

If you were born outside of Ireland, you can become an Irish citizen if:

1. One of your grandparents was born in Ireland, or;
2. One of your parents was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, even though they were not born in Ireland.

In these cases, you can become an Irish citizen through Foreign Birth Registration.

Once a person is entered onto the Foreign Births Register they are an Irish citizen and entitled to apply for an Irish passport.