The High Court will rule today on an application by a transsexual dentist, who was registered as a male at birth but has since undergone gender-reassignment procedures, to be classified as a female on her birth certificate. The case is the first of its kind to be determined by the Irish courts.
The proceedings taken by Dr Lydia Annice Foy (55), of Athy, Co Kildare, against the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the State were heard by Mr Justice McKechnie over 14 days in October/November 2000 and judgment was reserved.
When born in June 1947, Dr Foy was registered as a male and named Donal Mark. In 1977, he married Ann Foy and the couple had two daughters within the next three years. The marriage ended in the early 1990s. In 1992 he underwent gender reassignment and the following year changed her name by deed poll to Lydia Annice Foy. She holds a driving licence, medical card, polling card and Irish and British passports in that name. However, her birth certificate still records her as male.
During the hearing, Mr Bill Shipsey SC, for the applicant, said his client was not seeking to change the birth registration of her daughters or to affect their succession rights in any way.
His client was born with a congenital disability commonly referred to as transsexualism. The case was about his client's right to her true identity and to have it recognised and respected by the State.