Do your family’s certificates link up?
Applying for Irish citizenship through a grandparent? The Department of Foreign Affairs checks that the names on three generations of certificates belong to the same people. This free check compares what’s written on yours and shows you what to fix, what to explain and what to order before you send anything.
- Free, with no account. Your answers stay on this device.
- Independent. Not connected to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
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1921. Births registered in the district of Fermoy, County of Cork
- Name (if any)
- Catherine
- Name and surname of father
- Daniel Leary
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ExplainCatherine Leary or Kathleen O’Leary? Explain it in your covering letter.
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Certificate of birth. Boston, Massachusetts, 1950
- Name of child
- Mary Byrne
- Maiden name of mother
- Kathleen O’Leary
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FixMary Byrne or Mary Walsh? Add her marriage certificate.
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Certificate of birth. Queens, New York, 1979
- Name of child
- Sean Michael Walsh
- Name of mother
- Mary Walsh
Small gaps cost months
Each certificate has to link to the next. A missing document, or a name that doesn’t obviously match, is what holds an application up.
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Applications are processed in strict date order and take about 12 months.
Source: Department of Foreign Affairs
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Incomplete applications are returned unprocessed, and a missing or wrong document can add four to six months.
Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs; Fragomen, September 2026
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If you didn’t send all the required documents, there’s no right to appeal a refusal.
How it works
Tell it your route
Which grandparent was born in Ireland, and which parent connects you to them.
Copy in each certificate
Names, dates and places for your grandparent, your parent and you, exactly as written. Skip anything you don’t have yet.
Read your report
What to fix, what to back up and what to explain, where to order anything missing, and a draft covering letter.
What it checks
- Names across all three generations, allowing for Irish forms (Ó Súilleabháin and O’Sullivan), familiar forms (Bridget and Delia) and old abbreviations (Jas. for James).
- Dates of birth against the ages given on marriage and death certificates.
- That every change of surname is covered by a marriage certificate.
- That you have every certificate the Department lists, and where to order the ones you don’t.
- Problems applicants often hit, such as a grandparent’s birthplace recorded wrongly on a parent’s certificate.
What it can’t do
- See your documents or tell whether they’re genuine.
- Check your witness, photographs or application form.
- Decide anything. Only the Department of Foreign Affairs decides applications.
The free check
Have your certificates to hand. Type what each one says exactly as written, mistakes and all, and skip anything you don’t have yet.
Want a person to check your actual documents?
That’s the $49 pre-submission check. You send scans of your certificates. A person checks each one against the Department’s list and our name and date rules, and emails you a written report within 3 working days. No AI is used on your documents.
Terms of service Privacy notice
Not open yet.
A sample report
This is the report for the example family at the top of the page: a grandmother born in Co. Cork in 1921, her daughter born in Boston and a grandson born in New York. Every name and record is made up.
How Unbroken Line checks
- A person does every paid check, not software.
- Each certificate is checked against the Department of Foreign Affairs’ published document list and our name and date rules.
- What we don’t do: give legal advice, check that documents are genuine, or speed up an application. Only the Department decides.
Unbroken Line is run by Patrick Fox, a sole trader in Ireland.
Questions
Is this connected to the Irish Government?
No. Unbroken Line is independent and isn’t connected to the Department of Foreign Affairs or any part of the Irish Government. Only the Department decides applications, and nothing here can speed one up.
The official guidance is on the Department’s page about registering a foreign birth.
Where do my answers go?
Nowhere. The check runs in your browser, and your answers are saved only in this browser so you can come back to them. “Clear my answers” deletes them.
The privacy notice has the details.
Is this legal advice?
No. It compares what you type with the Department’s published document list and the name and date differences that commonly lead to questions. For advice on your own situation, speak to a solicitor.
One of my parents was born in Ireland. Do I need this?
Usually not. If you were born abroad to a parent born on the island of Ireland, you’re normally an Irish citizen already and can apply for an Irish passport. The Department explains this on its foreign births page.
Does Northern Ireland count?
Yes. A grandparent born anywhere on the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, counts.
Can it tell me whether my documents will be accepted?
No. It can’t see your documents or check they’re genuine, and it doesn’t decide anything. It shows where names, dates and documents don’t line up, so you can deal with them before you send.
What’s the $49 check?
You send scans of your actual certificates. A person checks each one against the Department’s list and the same name and date rules, then emails you a written report within 3 working days. You can also ask us to check your completed application form.
No AI is used on your documents. We delete your uploads 30 days after we send the report.
The price is $49. The terms of service cover cancelling and refunds.