Registering YourName.ie – Who Is Eligible Before October 31?

There’s been quite a bit of media coverage in the last few days about the upcoming relaxation of IEDR rules to allow people to register yourname.ie.
While some of the reporting hasn’t been particularly inspired some of it has been quite misleading.
As of October 31st any Irish citizen or resident in Ireland will be able to register their name.
You will NOT be able to register ANY name you want post October 31st. You will only be able to register your given name or a variation thereof that you can prove (I’ll post about that in more detail later).
However, if you are a published writer, artist (in the broadest sense of the word), politician or business person who actively trades using your own name at present you can register your name NOW. You do not have to wait until the end of October.
One of the examples that people have mentioned is politicians’ names, such as bertieahern.ie – he’s already got his domain name, so there’s no point trying to get it. Even if he hadn’t got it already he could get it before the end of October.
If you are a doctor, solicitor or other tradesman that trades using your name you can register your domain name today. You do not need to wait!