LISTERS -- Please read my own query at the end of this piece, thank you! Jean SNIPPET: One of the peculiarities of the system of registration is that, although the local Registrars were responsible for the Registers themselves, the legal obligation to register births, deaths and marriages actually rested with the public, and was enforced by hefty fines. A general word of warning about civil registration - a certain proportion of births, deaths and marriages simply went unregistered. Per expert, John GRENHAM, it is impossible to be sure how much is not there, since the thoroughness of local registration depended very much on local conditions and on the individuals responsible, but experience in cross-checking from other sources such as parish and census records suggests that as much as 10 to 15 per cent of marriages and births simply do not appear in the registers. BIRTHS: Persons required to register births were: The parent or parents, or in the case of death or inability of the parent or parents the occupier of the house or tenement in which the child was born; or the nurse; or any person present at the birth of the child. The information they were required to supply was: the date and place of birth; the name (if any); the sex; the name, surname and dwelling place of the father; the name, surname, maiden surname and dwelling place of the mother; the rank, profession or occupation of the father. The informant and the Registrar were both required to sign each entry, which was also to include the date of registration, the residence of the informant and his or her 'qualification' - (for example, 'present at birth'). Notice to the Registrar of the birth was to be given within twenty-one days, and full details within three months. It should be noted that it was not obligatory to register a first name for the child. The very small proportion for which no first name was supplied appear in the index as, for example, 'Kelly (male)' or 'Murphy (female)' In some parts of Ireland girls were much more likely to be named "Catherine," in others "Katherine." In the late 19th century, when a large majority of the population was illiterate, the precise spelling of their surname was a matter of indifference to most people Members of the same family may be registered as, for example, Kilfoyle, Gilfoyle or Guilfoile. Until the start of the Gaelic Revival, prefixes such as "O" and"Mac" were treated as entirely optional and, in the case of the former, in particular, more often omitted than included. Until well into the 20th century, almost all the O'Brien's were recorded under "Brien" or "Bryan." Before starting a search in the indices, therefore, it is essential to have as clear an idea as possible of the variants to be checked. Among the vast majority of the population, the range of first names in use in the 19th century was severely limited. Apart from some localised names - "Cornelius" in south Munster, 'Crohan" in the Caherdaniel area of the Iveragh Peninsula, 'Sabina' in the east Galway/north Roscommon area, the anglicisation of the earlier Gaelic names was restrictive and unimaginative - John, Patrick, Michael, Mary and Bridget occur with almost unbelievable frequency in all parts of the country. Combined with the intensely local nature of surnames, reflecting the earlier tribal areas of the country, this can present intense difficulties when using indexes. For example, per Mr. GRENHAM, a single quarter of 1881, from January to March, might contain 20 or more John (O') Reilly (or Riley) registrations, all in the same registration district of Co. Cavan. A further obstacle is that it is very rare for more than one first name to be registered. One way to surmount the problem, if the precise district is known, is to examine the original registers themselves to build a picture of all families in which the relevant. If the name is unusual enough, of course, this may not be necessary. In Ireland, however, few are lucky enough to have an ancestor called Horace Freke-Blood or Euphemia Thackaberry. Per Mr. GRENHAM, a large measure of skepticism is necessary in regard to the accuracy of date of births, marriage and deaths reported by family members in census returns before 1900. It would appear that up to that time period, very few people actually knew their precise date of birth and a guess will usually produced an underestimate, perhaps, reflecting an age 10-15 years younger than actual and that in many cases ages on censuses were more likely than not to be rounded off - 50, 60, 70. MY NOTE -- Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears to me that many old registers are divided into quarters of the year by the date registered, rather than the actual birth date. Since the informant had weeks to register the birth, one should investigate the next quarter's data if unable to find a birth registered for the month that person was believed to have been born. Please read more about particular records, indices, registers for certain time periods, Catholic and non-Catholic. Children of well-educated families may appear in records with two or more given names, one of which may reflect a "surname in disguise" important to the family such as mother's maiden name, or the first and middle name actually reflecting the name of a grandfather. Individuals could be named for important historical figures or another family member. Some parents named a child after a sibling who had died. My aunt "Tessie" went by Theresa Harriet and Harriet Theresa on different records. Turned out my uncle Denis was actually Harold Denis, and my "Aunt Pat" wasn't Patricia at all, but Winifred Rosina, who likely was called 'Pat' because her grandfather was Patrick. Individuals may go by a nickname, or a "handle" that differentiated one local family from another. Apparently the first-born son and first-born daughter often reflected the names of their paternal grandparents, but you can read more about naming patterns yourself. MY QUESTION -- Can one research a fairly recent birth, say 1920's, with a child's name, date of birth, father's first name only - no location or information on mother? Aren't more recent all-Ireland births recorded in books by year? Aren't some births for a year actually recorded after the fact (say, when a person applied for a pension) in the back of the appropriate yearly book?