RESEARCHING IRELAND -8 IRISH CERTIFICATES Irish civil registration certificates contain similar information to those for England and Wales. Copy certificates from the General Register Offices in Dublin or Belfast do not contain any original signatures. Irish birth certificates show the date and place of birth, the name(s) of the child and its sex, the names of the father and his address and occupation, the names of the mother including her maiden surname, the date the birth was registered and particulars of the informant together with their signature and the signature of the registrar. IRISH MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES list the place and type of ceremony, together with the registration district or Poor Law Union and county where it took place and the date of the marriage and whether by banns or licence. Particulars recorded about the bride and groom include their full names, their marital status (bachelor, spinster, widower or widow), their ages (although sometimes only shown as 'of full age', meaning over 21), their addresses, and the names of their respective fathers and their occupations. The occupation of the groom is shown though seldom one for the bride until fairly recent times. Marriage certificates also show how the couple signed the register and include the name, signature of the official who carried out the ceremony and the names and signatures of at least two witnesses - often close relatives or friends. Although death certificates generally do not contain much helpful genealogical information, they should not be ignored as sometimes details given (like an age) can be used to locate other events. THE IRISH DEATH CERTIFICATE shows the date and place of death, the name and age of the deceased, their sex and 'condition' (marital status), occupation (if any), the certified cause of death, the duration of any final illness and usually the name of a medical practitioner who certified the death. The date the death was registered and the name of the informant is shown, and this was usually a relation, together with their signature and that of the registrar who recorded the death. ============================================== ©Cara_Links Researching Co.Wicklow,Wexford. A friend is one who accepts your past, loves you as you are, and believes in your tomorrows