Throughout his adult life he claimed to have been born in Edinburgh, giving his year of birth variously as 1825 or 1830, but his entry in the 1841 Census gives his place of birth, like his parents', as "Ireland".
Throughout his adult life, McGonagall claimed to have been born in Edinburgh, giving his year of birth variously as 1825 and 1830. However, his entry in the 1841 Census gives his place of birth, like his parents', as "Ireland".