Personal: May 2008 Archives

One of the ideas some colleagues and I have always kicked around is expanding our training offerings into Europe. Not that Europeans don't have good computer trainers already, mind you, but I'm not bad at this. Besides, setting up shop in the EU makes sense for moving into India and other countries in Asia. The biggest complication we had with this idea was that we're Americans. The European Community has opened up borders inside the EU, but there are still a lot of restrictions and complications with EU-based companies hiring non-EU citizens to work there. Being Americans, we are considered outsiders.

Or are we? I mentioned this big-picture plan to an Irish friend one time, and she explained to me how the Republic of Ireland recognizes the grandchildren of people born in Ireland as citizens. As an Irish citizen, I would be able to apply for an Irish passport, allowing me to move and work more freely in the EU. It looks like there are some immediate opportunities for me to teach in the EU, but it looks like those opportunities would be better if I was a European.

Like an Irishman.

Geek that I am, I started with Teh Google to figure out where to begin. In a couple of clicks, I was reading about eligibility for Irish citizenship on the Embassy of Ireland website. A quick scan of the requirements confirmed what my friend told me, I'm eligible to be Irish through my paternal grandfather, who was born in Sligo. Now, I have to document that and apply for citizenship.

Documentation required is as follows:

Documents relating to the APPLICANT:

* Full civil birth certificate (including details of parents);
* Civil marriage certificate (if applicable);
* Copy of current passport or identity document;
* Two photographs of applicant (signed and dated by the witness from Section E on application form);
* Copy of Identification (If a child does not hold a current passport then a school report or letter from the school will suffice);
* Proof of Address;
* Application form completed in full;
* Appropriate fee.

OK, all of this is no problem. Birth certificate, don't need marriage documentation (not claiming this through wife), passport copy. Proof of address is like the light bill. And the fee, of course.

Documents relating to the PARENT (through whom citizenship is claimed):
(These certificates MUST be included)

* Full civil birth certificate (including details of parents);
* Civil marriage certificate (if applicable);
* Copy of current passport or identity document, if alive, or death certificate;
* If application relates to a minor, parent must supply proof of address;
* If parent has been naturalized or obtained foreign birth registration, original certificates must accompany the application.

This gets tricky. My dad's birth and death certificates were lost in the storm. The death certificate was easy to track down, since he passed away here in Louisiana. One quick text message to the lovely Nola Notes, Esq., informed me that vital records for Louisiana are all on a state website now. (It helps having a friend who is an attorney that does lots of estate/succession work.) That website will link one to an on-line ordering process that wasn't too painful.

Birth certificate for Daddy: More problematic. The City of New York uses the same on-line company that Louisiana does. Problem is that birth certificates are common tools in the identity theft business, so it's more difficult to order one. You have to be ordering your own birth certificate or one for a child to do it online. This means I'll have to ring the NYC Health Department and explain things.


Documents relating to the GRANDPARENT BORN IN IRELAND from whom citizenship is claimed:

* Full civil birth certificate if born after 1864, otherwise a baptismal certificate; together with proof that no civil registration exists;
* Civil marriage certificate (if applicable);
* Copy of current passport or identity document, if alive, or death certificate;

OK, this is much easier, since Grandpa is long gone. I can request a copy of his birth certificate on-line from the Irish government. He passed here in New Orleans, so death certificate can be ordered from the same source as daddy's.

Once I have these documents, I can complete the citizenship form and submit it. When that's approved, I can apply for an Irish passport.

Since this process is going to involve some family history research, I'll be posting regular updates.

This is another installment in the "wherein I brag about my kiddo" component of this blog, but there's an important story to be told in the bragging.



That's my youngest, having just finished his 8th grade year at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. As you can see, he was a member of the marching band. He also was one of five 8th graders who had perfect grades throughout the year and were exempt from all their final exams. He's a good kid, even if he's a bit full of himself at the moment.

Little brother's latest accomplishment almost didn't happen, because his dad is a goof. A few weeks back, Kev brought home information about a scholarship sponsored by the Seelos Center. The scholarship is for eighth graders who are entering ninth grade at Catholic high schools in New Orleans. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic achievement first, need second.

It's the latter criteria where I had my concerns. We're not wealthy people, but when I see "need" in one of these scholarship applications, I'm hesitant to apply. My first thought is usually, surely there must be a family out there who needs the money more than we do? Wife agreed with me, and we were about to leave it at that when our firstborn got into the discussion.

Big Brother has a different take on life in general, being both smarter and younger than his old man. He took a look at the information handout on the scholarship and said, "Look, this says academic first. He should apply. If there's a kid who is as smart as Kevin and needs the money more, then they'll give it to that kid. Not to mention you can use the money. Catholic school tuition isn't cheap and you're paying for my Ga Tech tuition as well."

He's 100% right, of course, on all counts. Kev's a smart kid and deserves to be rewarded for the hard work he's done. We're also NOT rich, and yeah, we could use the break on tuition. With fees, etc., kev's tuition for next year will come very close to $7K, and if the Seelos folks want to help us with that obligation, it's crazy not to go for that help. We can put the savings in the bank against his college tuition.

We took the firstborn's advice and applied for the scholarship. Kev wrote an excellent essay, talking about how he's heard about Fr. Seelos and St. Mary's Assumption Church (the location of the Seelos Shrine) from his dad, who used to teach at Redeemer High School (which was what Redemptorist High, located across the street from St. Mary's, became when the Irish Channel school closed and moved to Gentilly). I wrote a three-paragraph note that was included with the application and his essay, explaining our financial situation.

Last week, wife got a call from Kev's school in the middle of the day. It was Kevin, calling from the principal's office. Oh, crap, now what?

He won the scholarship.

The school's first Mass of the year always recognizes the recipients of the school's academic scholarships (4- and 5-year awards to incoming 8th and 9th graders-both of my boys received that scholarship), so Mr. Rando said they'll recognize Kev for the Seelos scholarship then. He had just received the letter that day, though, so he wanted to let us know. Like all schools, Brother Martin loves to brag on their kids as much as mom and dad do.

The moral of the story is simple: Apply for any and all scholarships for which your kids are eligible! At least up until you win the lottery.