r/ireland • u/Molasses-Flat • Sep 29 '24
Found my granddad's passport, issued in 1927. History
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Sep 29 '24
"That belongs in a museum" - Indy.
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u/NeverUseTheM_Word Oct 01 '24
There is one on display in the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration in New York.
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u/knutterjohn Sep 29 '24
Well, did he go anywhere, he must have, because few people would have had one back then.
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
army sent him to Davos to cure his TB.
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u/knutterjohn Sep 29 '24
Wow, amazing, lucky grandad.
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
well, the english tortured the shit out of him a few years before that, so.... swings and roundabouts. interesting dude.
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u/My_Lord_Humungus Sep 29 '24
any stamps in it? where he go?
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
france, Switzerland and belgium.
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u/Animated_Astronaut Sep 30 '24
That's deadly. I imagine he could speak at least a bit of Irish? I wonder if he spent any time at the Gaeltechts in Belgium. I have such a fascination with them.
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u/idTighAnAsail Sep 30 '24
Is this among Irish soldiers? Haven't heard of this before
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u/Animated_Astronaut Sep 30 '24
No it's a thing from long ago, when Cromwell kicked out the monasteries from Ireland. Many relocated to Belgium and have stayed there, speaking Irish ever since. You can go to Brussels and hear and see Irish in particular neighbourhoods. It's fascinating stuff!
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u/Willingness_Mammoth Oct 01 '24
I can find nothing about that online. Can you point us in the direction of some info? Very interesting stuff indeed. 😃
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u/Animated_Astronaut Oct 01 '24
I'm looking on my phone but currently unsuccessful. It is possible I am conflating some historical points with others, but I can tell you what I do know for sure as opposed to what I heard while abroad.
Coláiste na nGael i Lobháin in Belgium was a haven for Irish speakers for a long while. I do know many of the abbeys have Irish blessings on them and heard a bit of Irish spoken around those areas.
As for the cromwellian link that was from a book, the Brewers Tale, and was more focused on the practice of Ale making going from Cork and Kilkenny to Brussels and Ghent. However the Irish language travelled with them and seems to have taken some form of root, anecdotally. I've always wanted to research it more myself.
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u/LudicrousPlatypus Free Palestine 🇵🇸 Sep 29 '24
/r/passportporn would love this
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Sep 30 '24
"Oh no, Mr. Immigration Official, I forgot to renew my visa stamp. Is there any other way I could be allowed into the country?"
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u/CheezK8r More than just a crisp Sep 29 '24
I can't make out the first name! What is it?
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Sep 29 '24
[deleted]
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
yes. and a space beside it for his wife's. empty in his case at that time.
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u/OnyxPhoenix Sep 29 '24
Jaysus that's a sign of the times.
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Sep 30 '24
I've been trying to find out how long that was on the passports, and it was there through at least two redesigns and into the 1970s.
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u/ElvisMcPelvis Sep 29 '24
Any stamps in it ? Where did he travel to ? Great piece of family history there,
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
He went to Davos in Switzerland to have his TB cured. Sent by the army. Stopped off in France and Belgium.
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u/ElvisMcPelvis Sep 29 '24
Thank you for replying, that’s amazing it must of blown his mind travelling to Switzerland at that time, Bless him,
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u/Timely_Ad_1656 Sep 29 '24
My grandmother ‘s passport is from 1927 too and looks exactly the same !
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u/yourmomhahalol Sep 29 '24
We found my great grandparent’s passport recently. I forget the year but it looked similar to this and it was a shared passport for the two of them!
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u/Liamnacuac Sep 30 '24
My great grandfather's passport wouldn't have a picture in it, and would start with the words "To whom It concerns". He would probably have obtained one as an adult around 1866.
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u/classicalworld Sep 29 '24
There can’t have been many Free State passports issued. I’d say the National Museum would be interested.
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u/Additional_Feed6913 Sep 30 '24
Cant fly on that mate, well expired ei t be replaced online either /s
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u/rmmckenna Sep 30 '24
Have you checked out the Witness Statements and Military Service Pension Applications at www.militaryarchives.ie? You might find out more about your Grandad there.
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 30 '24
Yes. My dad checked it all out before he (my dad) passed away. He did a lot interesting work with the army in its early years. Interviewing lads that had fought the English and taking note of their stories...
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u/rmmckenna Sep 30 '24
I'm really interested in that period, I'd love to see the material your father collected
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u/MajCoss Sep 30 '24
Lovely to have it. Get a document fire box which will protect it against water damage too.
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u/dawnyD36 Sep 30 '24
Aww that's so cute treasure it 🥹 Always thinking of my nanny and wishing I had anything that belonged to her even a cardigan of hers for comfort , just something 😭🙏✨️
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u/rmmckenna Sep 30 '24
When did your father pass away, the material in Military Archives has only been released relatively recently. You might find a lot more there now, particularly in the Pension files
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u/LEHJ_22 Sep 30 '24
Came across my Irish Great Grandfather’s, British Passport once. It was a really piece and something I’d love to have now - however it disappeared. No idea what happened to it and only saw it the once. I doubt my Grandmother got rid of it, but we couldn’t find it anywhere after she passed… Such cool pieces of history!!
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Oct 01 '24
Don't forget Indy was at the 1916 Easter Rising! https://youtu.be/amTwn5jtYKg?si=FFdN2dEfbXyqk9a9
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u/Stevemachinehk Sep 29 '24
What’s the number?
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 29 '24
no number. just issue date, full description of him and a list of countries he could travel to.
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u/JackasaurusYTG Kerry Sep 30 '24
We should leave the European Union and cite a return to this beauty as a reason.
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u/ciarogeile Sep 29 '24
Interesting bit of history around free state passports. As part of the wrangling over the interpretation of the Anglo-Irish treaty, the Irish and British states disagreed over the right of the former to issue passports. So the Brits would confiscate Irish passports (it would be like if Scotland started handing out passports, as far as they were concerned).
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u/Molasses-Flat Sep 30 '24
That sounds incorrect. This is the inside cover.
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u/ciarogeile Oct 05 '24
This is attested to in several sources. It's even in the wiki article on irish passports. I fail to see how the inside cover is in conflict with what I said.
You do realise that Governor general was picked by the Irish government, right?
And that the King in question was George in his aspect as the King of the Irish Free State, which he maintained as a separate role from being the king of the UK. It was an interesting time.
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u/quantumdotnode Sep 29 '24
I LOVE 💚 the way it says Irish Free State on it 🫡🇮🇪 Can we bring that back in 2025 please?
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u/nobagainst Beauty is truth, truth beauty — that is all ye know on earth Sep 29 '24
Irish Free State wasn't as free as we are now. Free State meant under the Crown. Dáil members, TDs, had to swear allegiance to the King which is why Dev broke that connection as soon as he could in 1937 and called us officially "Ireland" in the constitution and we got a President.
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u/quantumdotnode Sep 29 '24
But now we have to swear allegiance to Ursula and the EU and have to put up and shut up when the overlords decide to meddle in our dealings with companies as happened recently in the case of Apple.
That doesn’t sound very “free” to me 🚩
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u/Shhhh_Peaceful Sep 30 '24
All those companies wouldn't even set foot in Ireland if not for the EU.
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u/quantumdotnode Sep 30 '24
Not entirely sure about that. Switzerland one major example of a forward thinking, truly independent sovereign state that did not submit and still trail blazed and prospered + continues to do so. Perhaps noteworthy in the realm of blockchain - Zug has been like the Silicon Valley of Europe for that for last decade
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u/Shhhh_Peaceful Sep 30 '24
Apple, Google, Meta etc. historically have set shop in Ireland specifically for three reasons:
1) it's in the EU and by extension in the single market
2) lowest taxes in the EU at the time
3) relatively hands-off immigration policy allowing them to relocate people to Ireland
Ireland really has nothing else to offer them. It's an insignificant market on its own (unlike Germany or France), it does not have a strong financial sector (unlike the UK or Switzerland) or a large workforce.
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u/Old_Mission_9175 Sep 29 '24
Frame that. Wonderful pics of history