Sports Call tonight

**lopez** · 30/04/2004, 4:24 PM

Originally Posted by Bowsy

Got a number of friends with 1 Irish grandparent and while they are proud of their Irish heritage none of them consider themselves Irish. That one grandparent would have to have one hell of a patriarhal/matriarchal influence over the rest of the family for it ever to be otherwise. That said I'm happy to have people like McAteer in the team as they strengthen a very small squad.

Give you an example here. My son. Loves Spain, loves going to Spain, loves Spanish football, loves deportivo, learning Spanish, adores his Spanish granny. Definitely proud of his Spanish roots and knows where these roots are because he's been there a few times. But I can't say he's Spanish even though, if Dodge is to be believed (which I personally don't doubt), he knows a hell of a lot more about Spain at 10, than Trigger knew about Ireland at whatever age he (eventually it should be noted) took out Irish citizenship.

**lopez** · 30/04/2004, 4:28 PM

Originally Posted by Conor74

What has a passport got to do with it, as a matter of interest? There is no requirement for an Irish citizen to hold a passport. And as far as I'm aware the citizenship legislation makes no reference to passports...

'The King is in the altogether, the altogether, the altogether, the King is as naked as the day that he was born!'

**Plastic Paddy** · 30/04/2004, 5:04 PM

Originally Posted by Conor74

There is no requirement for an Irish citizen to hold a passport.

There is when you're born outside the state, Conor. We have to opt-in to citizenship by applying for and obtaining a passport. There is no other way of doing it as far as I'm aware.

PP

**Greenbod** · 30/04/2004, 6:07 PM

Originally Posted by lopez

Sorry but having 1 grandparent does not make someone Irish.

Leaving passports aside, but if you have one Irish grandparent wouldn't it follow that you also have at least one Irish parent.

**lopez** · 30/04/2004, 10:23 PM

Originally Posted by Conor74

Your

might be appropriate, if I had the slightest iota of what THAT was all about.

Just making the point that you were referring to passports and passports having nothing to do with citizenship of this country.

OK, I mentioned passport as in football that is needed as confirmation of citizenship. I don't think that the Irish government claims everyone that is entitled to Irish citizenship as Irish. Eg: If the country had national service, would they capture everyone with an Irish grandparent who passed through Ireland and force them into two years of peeling spuds? You still have to make a decision. In fact third generation kids (like mine or Clinton, Andy and Tony) require a foreign birth's certificate for citizenship...or more importantly to get either an Irish passport or to be inserted into one of their parent's passports.

Re the song, see my earlier bit about Hans Christian Andersen.

Originally Posted by Greenbod

Leaving passports aside, but if you have one Irish grandparent wouldn't it follow that you also have at least one Irish parent.

As far as I'm concerned someone with one grandparent may well consider himself Irish but with our footballers this has been a late-in-life born-again type of Irishness. As for the parent with one Irish parent, I know three people at least who think of themselves as Irish as me and have one British parent. This is not as uncommon as it might seem with the argument about Holland and the Brenda anthem.

**lopez** · 01/05/2004, 9:59 AM

Originally Posted by davros

Isn't a Grandparent,FIFA/UEFA'S minimum criteria?Not often I agree with them,but seems a reasonable cut-off....even allowing for past 'indiscretions'...

Well that would mean that Celtic's Scottish fans are not Irish and no longer is the club too. But as you say we shouldn't generalise.

FIFA's rules were until Qatar tried to buy their international team simple. If you could get a passport (citizenship for Connor) then you could play. This was based on the fact that countries don't usually hand out passports to anyone...not without either athletic prowess or a sackfull of cash anyway. Germany will hand out a passport purely on genetics. Someone whose anscestors left for the Volga or America in the 19th century will walk in and get German citizenship, sometimes on the basis of a Nazi Party membership card. 2G and 3G Turks born in Germany will find it a lot harder if not impossible to do likewise.