Enough Of Me To Go Around

Once I got my British passport, I should have been happy, right?

And I am happy, really. Doug and I can live and work anywhere in the European Union, and after a few years of living with an official Brit, I’m pretty sure Doug can become a citizen, too. He loves that idea, but then again, he thinks it’s sexy that he’s married to a British citizen. Some men are SO easy to please!

The countries about which I have an abiding passion (as I’m sure you’ve realized by now!) are Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of Great Britain, of course, and the Republic is an EU nation. It’s all good!

So why am I so obsessed with also getting my Irish passport? Probably because they’re making it so freakin’ hard!

On three separate occasions now, I’ve asked the Edinburgh officials to send me umpteen copies of the “long-form” birth certificate for my father, the one which should show the ages and birth places of his parents. Three times, they’ve ignored the specifics of my need and sent me birth certificates which list my grandparents’ names only. Without the birthplace of my grandfather shown (County Monaghan, Ireland), it will be nigh unto impossible to establish to the Irish Consulate’s satisfaction that my father has an Irish-born parent.

And unless I can make that connection, I can’t claim my rightful citizenship and passport.

I emailed the Irish consulate after hearing back from the Scottish authorities again today. I told the Irish that the Scottish say their birth certificates do NOT list birth places of the child’s parents. Period.

The Irish lady said, “The English certificates ALWAYS show the parents birth’ places. ALWAYS.”

Already, she had me where she wanted me, which was in a defensive, I’ll-never-amount-to-anything-much-less-be-an-Irish-citizen posture. ENGLISH? I’d told her I’d been corresponding with a woman in EDINBURGH which, last time I checked, is NOT in England!!! Great Britain? OK, I’ll concede on that point. But Scotland and England are TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES!

Irish people know this. Do they just like to rub it in, or what?

Then, trying to be as conciliatory as possible so she didn’t blacklist me from candidacy for future citizenship, I asked the Irishwoman, “In the absence of the type of birth certificate you’d like to see, what other documents might you accept?”

I was thinking I’d try to get the death certificate for my great-grandfather. It shows him dying in Ireland, and my grandfather (who was in his early twenties at the time) coming over from Scotland to report the death to the authorities. It other words, it helps demonstrate that my grandfather’s people were from Ireland.

“Well, I don’t KNOW!” she hissed. “I haven’t seen your application yet! But I’ll tell you this much: There’s no way we’ll accept your application as is!”

You probably know how that set with me. It didn’t go down easy. Let me just put it this way: From the sounds of her, I’m the younger woman. I’ll wear her down or wear her out, but I will persevere with every scrap and shred of evidence I can produce until they grant me the credentials I’m entitled to.

My dad always said that to be Scots-Irish means you beat yourself up coming and going. He was right, but if the bureaucrats either Scottish or Irish think I’ll give up without a fight, well…stay tuned. :)

Posted by Katy on 07/19/07 at 05:09 PM

Fallible Comments...

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Next entry: We Were Jesus People, Then, And Young...

Previous entry: The Do-Unto-Others Because They've Done-Unto-You Meme

<< Back to main


		more fallible attitude »

Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Enough Of Me To Go Around Once I got my British passport, I should have been happy, right? And I am happy, really. Doug and I can live and work anywhere in the European Union, and after a few years of living with an official Brit, I’m pretty sure Doug can become a citizen, too. He loves that idea, but then again, he thinks it’s sexy that he’s married to a British citizen. Some men are SO easy to please! The countries about which I have an abiding passion (as I’m sure you’ve realized by now!) are Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. Scotland and Northern Ireland are part of Great Britain, of course, and the Republic is an EU nation. It’s all good! So why am I so obsessed with also getting my Irish passport? Probably because they’re making it so freakin’ hard! On three separate occasions now, I’ve asked the Edinburgh officials to send me umpteen copies of the “long-form” birth certificate for my father, the one which should show the ages and birth places of his parents. Three times, they’ve ignored the specifics of my need and sent me birth certificates which list my grandparents’ names only. Without the birthplace of my grandfather shown (County Monaghan, Ireland), it will be nigh unto impossible to establish to the Irish Consulate’s satisfaction that my father has an Irish-born parent. And unless I can make that connection, I can’t claim my rightful citizenship and passport. I emailed the Irish consulate after hearing back from the Scottish authorities again today. I told the Irish that the Scottish say their birth certificates do NOT list birth places of the child’s parents. Period. The Irish lady said, “The English certificates ALWAYS show the parents birth’ places. ALWAYS.” Already, she had me where she wanted me, which was in a defensive, I’ll-never-amount-to-anything-much-less-be-an-Irish-citizen posture. ENGLISH? I’d told her I’d been corresponding with a woman in EDINBURGH which, last time I checked, is NOT in England!!! Great Britain? OK, I’ll concede on that point. But Scotland and England are TWO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES! Irish people know this. Do they just like to rub it in, or what? Then, trying to be as conciliatory as possible so she didn’t blacklist me from candidacy for future citizenship, I asked the Irishwoman, “In the absence of the type of birth certificate you’d like to see, what other documents might you accept?” I was thinking I’d try to get the death certificate for my great-grandfather. It shows him dying in Ireland, and my grandfather (who was in his early twenties at the time) coming over from Scotland to report the death to the authorities. It other words, it helps demonstrate that my grandfather’s people were from Ireland. “Well, I don’t KNOW!” she hissed. “I haven’t seen your application yet! But I’ll tell you this much: There’s no way we’ll accept your application as is!” You probably know how that set with me. It didn’t go down easy. Let me just put it this way: From the sounds of her, I’m the younger woman. I’ll wear her down or wear her out, but I will persevere with every scrap and shred of evidence I can produce until they grant me the credentials I’m entitled to. My dad always said that to be Scots-Irish means you beat yourself up coming and going. He was right, but if the bureaucrats either Scottish or Irish think I’ll give up without a fight, well…stay tuned. :) Posted by Katy on 07/19/07 at 05:09 PM Fallible Comments... Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: We Were Jesus People, Then, And Young... Previous entry: The Do-Unto-Others Because They've Done-Unto-You Meme << Back to main


copyright 2011, ngenius media inc.

Personal blog of christianwriter & fallible momKaty McKenna Raymondin Kansas City, Missouri

Recent Posts

Search

Syndicate

Enough Of Me To Go Around

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri