I have seen people say that only Southern Ireland are eligible then others say Northern Ireland are, I checked myself and as far as I can see Northern Ireland are.
My wife’s adoptive father (now deceased) was born in Belfast but moved to England in his early 20’s so from what I have read on the Irish passport site is if my wife’s gets her adoption certificate/birth certificate registered and recognised in Ireland then she would be eligible for an Irish passport, there is a 2 year wait to get birth certificates registered apparently.

That is very, very good news for both of you.

Basically, it doesn't matter where in Ireland a person was born, it just has to be on the island of Ireland.

You say your wife's father was born in Belfast. Great, that means she can skip the FBR process and apply for an Irish passport immediately with all the supporting documentation. Anyone with a parent born on the island of Ireland is automatically Irish. It is only if have an Irish grandparent that you have to register on the FBR - current waiting time reduced to approximately 18 months now.

Your wife must have an adoptive birth certificate with her adopted father's name on it. Presumably his name is also on your marriage certificate? Can you explain further?

More good news - you can both move to an EU state in the good old freedom of movement way and you are not subjected to the 90/180 day travel restrictions either.

Yes she has the adoption certificate with the name given to her by her adoptive parents as she was only 6 weeks old when adopted, I also have her fathers death certificate which clearly states place of birth, there are still surviving family members living in Belfast and we have regular contact with them.

When I checked on the Irish passport site it did say that U.K. birth certificates have to be registered and recognised prior to passport application, from memory I think it costs about £220 to do that.

Would my wife and myself be able to work part time in Spain on my wife’s passport or would it be just my wife allowed ?

Lots of useful stuff here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

That's brilliant. I have never heard about UK birth certificates needing to be registered, I just sent in all my original certificates, many of which were copies from the GRO.

Off the top of my head, you will need the father's birth, marriage and death certificates and your wife's adoptive birth and marriage certificates but when you go through the online passport application, you will be told which documents you need to include. All documents must be originals or official copies from the GRO.

Yes can definitely both work in Spain. As the dependent of an EU national, you have special EU rights and privileges and you can work.

You can go ahead and apply for the passport now. Getting an Irish passport feels like being pulled into a lifeboat!

Edit: Sorry, one more thing, you might want to join this forum. It's very friendly and very helpful:

https://www.immigrationboards.com/ireland/foreign-birth-registration-t277641-4900.html

thank you very much Lou 👍

Thank you 👍

What an absolute bummer.

You could consider moving to Ireland for 5 years and getting Irish passports through the naturalisation process. Personally, I would rather live in Ireland than the UK anyway.

Thank you. That’s always an idea.

I don't blame people wanting the passport and using it as a stepping stone, the only downside is that I see it slowly turning into another England in parts and far too many people for my liking now.
What the country really needs is people who have a passion for the country and want to give something back long term (nature conservation, community involvement etc.). With the rental shortages it now seems to be all about quick money and foreign investors supporting the construction of ugly apartment blocks. Even around Galway the amount of traffic is getting worse and the littering has reached new levels. I suppose we can't stop it and in Spain it's no different with the urbanisation of coastal land, we never learn. Sorry, off topic and rant over .

Just a thought, but have you considered Portugal?

It's easier to get a visa with a lower minimum income requirement. All residents are entitled to free health care immediately on obtaining residency and the cost of living is very reasonable.

Bons over on the Portugal section mentioned Americans moving to the Algarve in numbers and I was reading about it at the weekend. They really rate Portugal as do many other nationalities so it might be a good alternative for you.

Moses, I know what you mean but I do think that people genuinely like living in Ireland.

My DH said that most of employees at work (near to London) are either from Ireland or various parts of Southern/Eastern Europe and most of them are here just for the work and money and then heading back “home” when they have made enough money some are even staying to complete their pensions, looking back through history this has always been the way….maybe not so much in Southern Ireland but alas it seems to have joined the rest of us.

Yes of course you are right and people have always gone abroad to find work etc. but the people were usually still thankful the country gave them the opportunity. It's just that with Brexit the only option for people who want to live in Spain or Portugal is now to move to Ireland and stay 5 years. In reality it isn't that easy and the country has already reached limits with housing and healthcare shortages. People should be aware of that and instead of complaining that it's not Spain/Portugal (heard this a lot recently:-), maybe getting involved with the community would help and be thankful that you still have the chance and nothing is free. Of course Lou71 is right and there are those who genuinely like living in Ireland. I see it in Westport and there seem to be more and more British cars parked outside big mansions (I'm sure they enjoy it:-). I suppose I'm also a bit selfish and always liked having a beach to myself/enjoying nature, this is of course will become more difficult in the future.