The administration of the registration system, including the registration of deaths, is a matter for an tArd-Chláraitheoir, the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages, and for local registrars who operate under his general direction.
The details to be registered in relation to a death are set out in section 30 of the Births and Deaths Registration (Ireland) Act of 1863 and the Schedule to that Act. These include date and place of death, name and age of the deceased, occupation and cause of death. Certified copies of entries in the register of deaths include all details contained in the relevant entry in the register of deaths.
I understand that applications were made to the General Register Office in 1993 for death certificates relating to persons interred in the graveyard in High Park. With the information supplied, the General Register Office was able to issue 75 death certificates. The office issued "no trace" forms for a number of others where it was unable to trace a death entry in the records with the information available to it. The office was unable to conduct a search of the records in some cases in respect of which insufficient details were supplied. The deaths may be registered, but the details upon which the searches were based were insufficient or may have been incorrect.
It is important that the name and the date of death are accurately provided. The normal procedure in cases where records cannot be found based on the information supplied is that the applicant is so informed and invited to provide further information which may enable the entry to be located. In addition, there is a provision under section 15 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act (Ireland) 1880 for late registration of deaths with the authority of an tArd Chláraitheoir. It is understood from recent press reports that the religious order concerned has stated that it complied with regulations in relation to the registration of deaths of persons in their care.