Do your Irish ancestors have an incorrect birth date?

Question

Hi,

My three Irish grandparents' birthday on their birth registration is different from the birthday that the family celebrated.  When I first discovered this for my maternal grandmother, I thought it was an anomaly.  Maybe her mother had so many kids that she mixed up her birthday?  I have since discovered that both my grandfathers have a different birthday on their birth registration than we celebrated over their lifetimes. This was across 3 different countries in the 1920s.  

I know that my paternal grandfather's recorded birth date on his birth registration is incorrect, as it states that he was born mid-June, the family believed his birthday was 16 May. However, we also know that his mother died post-partum and her death registration is 28 May.  His birthday cannot be in mid-June.  As genealogists, we are thought to go back to the source closest to the time of the event as the source of truth.  This is not helpful in this case.

Have other Irish genealogists found that this is a recurring theme?  My other grandmother was born in the US and her birth certificate is correct, but I find it weird that all 3 of my other grandparents' birthdays are "incorrect".  Would appreciate any thoughts or input.

Comments

My grandfather was born in Ireland on 28 August 1905 and baptised soon after. He was registered the following year as being born on 28 August 1906 - probably to avoid the fine for late registration. When he came to England he said he was born 28 August 1903 to get higher wages.

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Thats great John.  I didn't know about the fine for late registration.  It makes perfect sense.  Thank you.

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My Irish relatives' (all of them, Great, Great Great, Parents, Aunts, Uncles)  birth years veryed a lot from one census to the next.  I wonder if they knew what year the were born.

Answer 1

Yvonne, a chara,

It all makes sense once you learn that there was a fine for late registration of births! They dates were often pulled forward a bit to avoid the fine. You should also consider who registered the birth!

My solution for this is usually to find a baptismal source: not only are they closer to the birth, but also while you can lie to the registrar, you can't lie to the priest!

Comments

OMG Feargal!  That is brilliant.  Makes perfect sense.  Yes, they were all about 1 month later than their actual birthday.  Thank you.  What scoundrels! Thats my people 

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Not scoundrels! Often a bunch of kids were registered when the parents "went to town" and that could be months apart or more for some rural dwellers. It was not just a case of "nipping into town in the car".

Answer 2

My grandmother and even my Mum has an incorrect date, it was pretty common to register using a different date to avoid getting fined for a late registration. My Mum would actually like her’s corrected as her health records are all on the correct date and all non health records are based on the birth certificate, meaning she had to wait to get her pension for example.

Mind you I’m yet to find several of my grandfather’s siblings registrations!! So they may not have bothered at all!

Answer 3

My grandfather, John O'Connell, was born 20 March, 1887 in Ballyhooly, County Cork however, most of his U.S. documents state that he was born 17 March, 1887. At some point after moving to the US he began telling everyone that his birthday was St. Patrick's Day. There is only one reason for this, he was fiercely proud of his Irish heritage, but it can make for some confusing research.

Answer 4

On my family tree, the majority of the (hundreds of) people born in Ireland have birthdates listed as "before [date of baptism]", followed by the note "(Civil birth record gives a false birthdate later than the date of baptism)".

Answer 5

Be sure to check original documents if possible.  There are a huge number of transcription errors made in the National Archives records