Category: Persons

Right of Burial At common law, every parishioner and inhabitant in the parish and every person dying within the parish had the right to be buried in the parish churchyard. If the parish was divided into ecclesiastical districts and there is no burial ground within the district, the bodies of persons lying in a district […]

Background Registration of births, deaths and marriages came relatively late to Great Britain and Ireland. After the Reformation in England, the established church was required to keep registers of baptisms, weddings and funerals.  There were penalties for non-compliance, but compliance standards were not high. The first comprehensive civil registration was enacted after a number of […]

Nature of Registration Registration of births does not register a person’s name or the person in any broader sense.  It registers the date of birth together with particulars of name, place of birth and details of parents. The parental details are not necessarily final. See separately under Family Law in relation to the legislation on […]

Overview Ireland does not maintain registers of individuals’ identities.  Birth certificate records facts of birth that are not proof of any identity.  They do not provide a unique identifier or any means of linking to a particular person. Unlike other jurisdictions, there is no provision in Ireland for identity cards. In practice, passports and driving […]

General A name at common law is a means of identifying a person and distinguishing him from others. A person’s name is not subject to registration as such. It is a matter of fact and practice. A name usually comprises of forename/Christian name and a surname. There may be further commonly a second hyphenated name […]

Register of Deaths The registrar maintains a register of death. Where a death occurs in the State, it is the duty of the deceased’s relative who has knowledge of the required particulars in relation to the death to notify the death within three months to the registrar in the form required. If there is no […]

The coroner’s office is an ancient office dating to the Middle Ages.  An inquiry was held at the place of death typically where there had been a crime, to examine the body and make findings associated with the crime. The Coroner’s Act 1962 put coroner’s law on a modern footing repealing numerous old acts dating […]

The coroner may  arranges for the post-mortem to be conducted at the relevant hospital.  This is usually performed by a pathologist.  It must not be a doctor or pathologist who is involved in the care of the patient in the final month of his life .  It must not be a doctor or pathologist whose […]

The coroner may hold an inquest to establish the cause of death and in other circumstances.  The coroner has a discretion. The purpose of the inquest is limited to and inquest into the facts of death.  Blame may not be attributed.  An inquest may be with the jury who will reach a verdict on the […]

There is an obligation to notify a reportable death to the coroner. The obligation applies to certain persons unless they have reasonable cause to believe that certain other persons have already reported the death. The following are reportable deaths the death of a person which occurred, or may have occurred, either directly or indirectly— in […]

The Child and Family Relationships Act 2015 make new provision for Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction for the first time.  It established  a national donor conceived person register.  This will enable donor conceived children’s donors and parents to trace their identity. A Donor-Assisted Human Reproduction facility may not require anonymous gametes or embryos.  They must, when acquiring […]

The Gender Recognition Act 2015 provides for legal recognition of the preferred gender of transgender persons.  Recognition is effective from the date of recognition and is not retrospective. The Department of Social Protection is the decision-making authority in relation to the issue of a gender recognition certificate.  The Department issues a certificate to the applicant […]