1926 Irish Free State census

First census after the partition of Ireland July 2026 July 2026 1926 census of Ireland EamonDeValera census form.png 1926 census form of Éamon de ValeraCompleted in Irish, with surname spelt "de Valéra". "n" and family Irish Free State 1911 4 2 y 2,971,992 -5.34% county Dublin (505,654) Longford (39,847) 1911 1936 A census of the Irish Free State was held on 18 April 1926. A parallel census for Northern Ireland was held the same day. These were the first Irish censuses since the partition of Ireland of 1920–1925. The previous all-island census had been in 1911; the decennial census due in 1921 was cancelled because the revolutionary Irish Republic had urged a boycott of it as being a project of the Dublin Castle administration it was fighting in the Irish War of Independence.Linehan 1997–1998 pp.53–54 The 1926 Free State data was made freely accessible online on 18 April 2026, the centenary of the census. Organisation The General Register Office (GRO) had organised earlier Irish censuses.Linehan 1997–1998 pp.49, 63 After the Free State was established in December 1922, several advisory committees of civil servants and academics from 1923 to 1925 advised the Cumann na nGaedheal government on what statistics the new state needed and how they should be gathered.Linehan 1997–1998 pp.55–62 The plan agreed by 1925 was for the GRO to organise the following year's census of population under an amended version of previous statutes, with a separate census of production to be organised by the Statistics Branch of the new Department of Industry and Commerce under a new statute.Linehan 1997–1998 pp.63–64 Delay in preparation meant that a single generic statute, the Statistics Act 1926, was passed by the Free State Oireachtas to empower the Statistics Branch to organise both censuses,Statistics Act 1926 https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1926/act/12/enacted/en/html electronic Irish Statute Book 18 April 2026 18 March 1926 en with the census of production delayed to 1927. The population census was actioned by a ministerial order made under the 1926 act by Patrick McGilligan, the Minister for Industry and Commerce.McGilligan 1926 The Statistics Branch consulted the GRO for its institutional memory of previous censuses. In December 1925 the Craigavon ministry had chosen 18 April 1926 for the census in Northern Ireland,https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ofBLAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA117 117 [s. 1] [c. 21] Census Act (Northern Ireland) 1925 Public General Statutes Passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland 5 15 & 16 Geo. 5 [N. I.] 1926 HMSO Belfast so the Free State government chose the same date.Cosgrave W. T. W. T. Cosgrave [Vol. 6 No. 11] Statistics Bill. 1925—Fourth Stage (resumed) https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/seanad/1926-02-25/6/#para_87 Seanad Éireann debate Oireachtas 21 April 2026 25 February 1926 On a given day in April it is proposed to take the Census in Northern Ireland, and it is advisable that the taking of the Census for the whole country should go on on one day. There were two primary forms: FormA, for each household, to be completed by the "head of household"; and FormB, for aggregating all the households and unoccupied houses in an enumeration area, to be completed by the enumerator. Enumerators were members of the Garda Síochána, who distributed Form A's in the week preceding Census Day and collected them in the following days.McGilligan 1926 s.3(b) The enumeration area was the townland in rural areas and street in urban areas.Reid Zoë The 1926 census—a century sealed, a nation revealed History Ireland March–April 2026 34 2 https://historyireland.com/the-1926-census-a-century-sealed-a-nation-revealed/ 18 April 2026 The questions to be asked on the forms were decided in consultation with the advisory committee on statistics. Form A questions relating to individuals:McGilligan 1926, Schedule, Form A retained from earlier censuses: name and surname;The 1911 census specified that only initials be recorded for inmates of "every prison, workhouse, barrack, hospital, or lunatic asylum, and ... every public or charitable institution".Census (Ireland) Act 1910 [7Edw.10 & 1Geo.5 c.11] s.3 The 1926 census followed this practice as regards prisonshttps://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/browse/#county=Dublin&ded=Inns+Quay&townland=Mountjoy+Prison&limit=50 Households in Mountjoy Prison (Inns Quay, Dublin), 1926 Search the Census 1926 NAI 22 April 2026 18 April 2026 and mental hospitalshttps://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#county=Dublin&ded=Arran+Quay&townland=Grangegorman+Mental+Hospital&limit=50&offset=150&a_id=204152&browse=true Dublin> Arran Quay> Grangegorman Mental Hospital> C, A 2–39 Search the Census 1926 NAI 22 April 2026 18 April 2026 but not military barracks,https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=637330 Kildare> Ballysax East> Curragh Camp> Household> Murphy, Timothy Jerome Search the Census 1926 NAI 22 April 2026 18 April 2026 including the Treaty Ports.https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=2878588 Cork> Cobh Rural> Spike Island> Household [Westmoreland Fort] > Borthwick, Lieutenant H G E Search the Census 1926 NAI 22 April 2026 18 April 2026 "n" relation to head of household (spouse, stepson, servant, lodger, visitor, etc); sex; marital status; religion; occupation; and number of children of current and of any previous marriage. asked in greater detail: age in months as well as years; knowledge of Irish (as native or second language, spoken or written); birthplace (town or townland rather than merely county). new: employees were asked name and business of the employer; under-16s were asked which parents were still living. dropped in 1926: illiteracy (which was felt to have become confined to the elderly); disability (blindness, deafness, mutism and learning disability; previous censuses had significant underreporting).The Free State Census https://epaper.irishtimes.com/titles/irishtimes/5088/publications/28070/pages/8 21 April 2026 The Irish Times 26 March 1926 7, c.6 Besides details of individuals, FormA also requested the size in statute acres of any agricultural holdings associated with the household. Form B included details of all buildings in the area—classed as multi-household, single-household, unoccupied residential, and non-residential—with for each household the number of males, females, and rooms occupied.McGilligan 1926, Schedule, Form B Publicity to encourage co-operation was solicited from Catholic and Protestant clergy, chambers of commerce, trade unions and professional associations, and national school teachers.Lyon 1934 pp.5–6 Instructions on completing the form were broadcast on 2RN on 17 April and 18 April. Sinn Féin told its supporters to complete the census form, an exception to its usual advocacy of noncooperation with the institutions of the Free State, whose legitimacy it denied.https://www.dib.ie/blog/census-fever-what-all-fuss-about Census fever: what is all the fuss about? 11 May 2026 Dictionary of Irish Biography Royal Irish Academy Angela Byrne 11 May 2026 For the first time, the census forms were printed in Irish as well as English (on opposite sides of the same sheet). Less than 1% of respondents filled in the Irish-language side.McGreevy Ronan The surprise findings from Census 1926: Only 1% returns in Irish and ‘so many nuns’ living to 100 https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/04/18/the-surprise-findings-from-census-1926-only-1-returns-in-irish-and-so-many-nuns-living-to-100/ 18 April 2026 The Irish Times 18 April 2026 en Statistics Each enumerator completed a separate FormC summarising all data from the FormsA and B they had gathered. A preliminary report was published in August 1926 by tabulating the FormC returns. The total recorded population was 2,971,992; down from the 3,139,688 recorded for the equivalent area in the 1911 census.Gataveckaite Gabija Historic 1926 census shows Protestant population drop in Irish Free State https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62le5p681ro www.bbc.com BBC 18 April 2026 18 April 2026 The FormA and B data was transcribed to punched cards by 21 "girls" and input into tabulating machines by "12 male clerks assisted by 12 junior male clerks". Detailed results generated from this were reported in nine thematic volumes published between 1928 and 1933 and a tenth volume in 1934 analysing the data of the previous nine.Lyon 1934 p.iv Maps were produced in co-operation with the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. Whereas censuses up to 1911 had reported rural data down to the townland level, to save expense the published 1926 census reports stopped at the level of the district electoral division (DED), which comprises multiple townlands. The larger reporting units built from DEDs were dispensary districts; urban and rural districts; administrative counties and county boroughs; and provinces. Although DEDs and (except in County Dublin) rural districts had ceased to be units with administrative functions, they were retained as convenient areas for aggregation of data and comparison with previous censuses.Hooper John Census of Population, 1926 I Population, Area and Valuation of each DED and each larger Unit of Area May 1928 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume1/C_1926_V1_contents_gen_details.pdf#page=2 Explanatory Notes 18 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office iv Basic population information was also provided for Dáil constituencies. Religion Religion in the Republic of Ireland Compared with 1911, there was a small overall decline in the number of Catholics, with increases in some urban areas. The number of non-Catholics declined steeply, especially in western and southern areas, and places which formerly had British Army bases, such as the Curragh Camp in County Kildare. Thus, Catholics increased as a percentage of the overall population, from 89.6% to 92.6%.From 2,812,509 out of 3,139,688 in 1911 to 2,751,269 out of 2,971,992 in 1926: Hooper John Census of Population, 1926 III Tables 1A (Number of persons of each Religion in Saorstát Éireann at each Census Year from 1861) and 1C (Number of Persons of Each Religion in Saorstát Éireann at Each Census Per 1,000 of Total Persons at That Census) Religion and Birthplaces September 1928 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume3/C_5_1926_V3_T1abc.pdf 1 22 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office +Numbers professing various religions at 1926 census, with percentage change (Δ) of each since 1911, and total non-Catholic percentage (%)Hooper John Census of Population, 1926 III Table 8A: Number of persons of each religion in each county and county borough in Saorstát Éireann on 18th April, 1926 Religion and Birthplaces September 1928 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume3/C_11_1926_V3_T8a.pdf 10 19 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office Hooper John Census of Population, 1926 III Table 8B: Percentage increase or decrease from 1911 to 1926 of persons of each religion in each county and county borough in Saorstát Éireann Religion and Birthplaces September 1928 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume3/C_11_1926_V3_T8b.pdf 11 21 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office LegendBacklink(Legend) Area Total Catholic Other denominations and religions Total AnglicanCalled "Protestant Episcopalian" in the Report; mainly Church of Ireland, some Church of England Presbyterian Methodist Jewish/Baptist/other Δ Percentage change since 1911 Δ Percentage change since 1911 % Percentage of total area population Δ Percentage change since 1911 Δ Percentage change since 1911 Δ Percentage change since 1911 Δ Percentage change since 1911 J Jewish B Baptist O Other Δ Percentage change since 1911Free State total 2,971,992 −5.3 2,751,269 −2.2 220,723 7.4 −32.5 164,215 −34.2 32,429 −28.7 10,663 −35.1 3,686 717 9,013 −14.6 Leinster total 1,149,092 −1.1 1,032,835 +4.3 116,257 10.1 −32.4 92,899 −33.7 8,589 −33.2 5,564 −31.0 3,226 499 5,480 −15.4 Carlow 34,476 −4.9 31,487 −2.6 2,989 8.7 −24.0 2,719 −24.5 97 −20.5 106 −32.5 15 0 52 +19.6 Dublin Co. Bor. County Borough 316,693 +3.9 285,033 +12.5 31,660 10.0 −38.4 23,417 −40.5 2,658 −37.0 1,431 −38.4 2,450 170 1,534 −25.0 Dublin Co. County 188,961 +9.6 149,026 +21.8 39,935 21.1 −20.2 30,392 −22.7 3,641 −17.3 2,379 −12.2 700 247 2,576 −1.9 Kildare 58,028 −12.9 54,401 −0.5 3,627 6.3 −69.6 3,193 −69.6 223 −63.5 118 −79.5 12 19 62 −64.0 Kilkenny 70,990 −5.3 68,377 −4.0 2,613 3.7 −30.7 2,342 −30.2 108 −49.5 61 −15.3 5 0 97 −19.0 LaoisNamed Queen's County in 1911 "n" 51,540 −5.7 46,880 −3.3 4,660 9.0 −24.2 4,193 −21.0 143 −49.3 214 −42.0 3 6 101 −42.4 Longford 39,847 −9.1 37,555 −6.8 2,292 5.8 −34.9 1,973 −36.0 121 −47.4 109 −33.1 0 0 89 +81.6 Louth 62,739 −1.5 59,623 +2.3 3,116 5.0 −41.9 2,295 −43.2 555 −40.6 147 −36.6 19 10 90 −22.2 Meath 62,969 −3.3 59,769 −1.5 3,200 5.1 −27.8 2,884 −26.9 181 −48.3 17 −69.1 4 1 113 +45.7 OffalyNamed King's County in 1911 "n" 52,592 −7.5 48,705 −4.8 3,887 7.4 −31.3 3,409 −30.5 148 −58.1 205 −24.1 3 3 119 0 Westmeath 56,818 −5.3 54,208 −1.0 2,610 4.6 −49.9 2,301 −49.4 149 −56.4 69 −66.0 2 18 71 −18.8 Wexford 95,848 −6.3 90,136 −4.5 5,712 6.0 −27.3 5,119 −27.4 149 −41.3 216 −35.3 0 11 217 +2.7 Wicklow 57,591 −5.1 47,635 −0.8 9,956 17.3 −21.7 8,662 −22.4 416 −25.3 492 −18.8 13 14 359 +0.5 Munster total 969,902 −6.3 934,703 −4.0 35,199 3.6 −42.9 28,614 −43.5 1,601 −61.7 2,397 −42.6 439 186 1,962 −3.8 Clare 95,064 −8.8 93,942 −8.2 1,122 1.2 −41.9 833 −51.3 54 −67.5 6 −84.2 7 1 221 +110.5 Cork Co. Bor. County Borough 78,490 +2.4 74,047 +9.2 4,443 5.7 −49.8 3,102 −52.8 350 −61.6 394 −38.7 290 58 249 −18.0 Cork Co. County 287,257 −8.9 271,072 −6.0 16,185 5.6 −40.0 13,791 −40.0 468 −54.9 1,221 −40.4 72 38 595 −21.6 Kerry 149,171 −6.6 146,821 −5.5 2,350 1.6 −46.2 2,051 −44.9 104 −60.8 100 −62.3 3 9 83 −16.7 Limerick Co. Bor. County Borough 39,448 +2.4 37,640 +8.0 1,808 4.6 −50.5 1,285 −44.5 147 −82.6 104 −51.2 30 38 204 −1.8 Limerick Co. County 100,895 −3.5 98,793 −2.7 2,102 2.1 −31.1 1,691 −33.7 65 −52.2 206 −24.5 3 10 127 +55.6 Tipperary, North R. Riding 59,645 −5.1 57,061 −3.7 2,584 4.3 −28.9 2,188 −31.4 39 −61.8 185 −23.2 0 0 172 +65.4 Tipperary, South R. Riding 81,370 −9.1 79,503 −6.4 1,867 2.3 −59.8 1,559 −61.3 134 −59.4 38 −80.4 7 1 128 +60.0 Waterford Co. Bor. County Borough 26,647 −3.0 25,466 +0.5 1,181 4.4 −44.6 861 −43.7 124 −32.2 70 −49.6 27 20 79 −55.2 Waterford Co. County 51,915 −8.1 50,358 −6.8 1,557 3.0 −36.2 1,253 −38.2 116 −42.3 73 −40.2 0 11 104 +25.0 Connacht total 552,907 −9.5 538,277 −8.5 14,630 2.6 −36.3 12,417 −34.7 976 −52.8 738 −44.2 11 12 476 −13.7 Galway 169,366 −7.1 167,347 −5.9 2,019 1.2 −53.1 1,673 −52.8 201 −59.4 64 −57.9 0 1 80 −28.3 Leitrim 55,907 −12.1 52,196 −10.3 3,711 6.6 −31.6 3,286 −30.0 89 −52.2 279 −45.3 1 2 54 +72.7 Mayo 172,690 −10.1 170,211 −9.5 2,479 1.4 −39.7 2,066 −38.9 271 −47.4 66 −53.2 3 0 73 +5.6 Roscommon 83,556 −11.1 82,210 −10.4 1,346 1.6 −39.5 1,147 −39.2 110 −43.6 18 −71.9 0 7 64 −10.1 Sligo 71,388 −9.7 66,313 −8.1 5,075 7.1 −26.7 4,245 −22.9 305 −55.0 311 −31.8 7 2 205 −23.8 Ulster (excl NI excluding Northern Ireland) 300,091 −9.4 245,454 −5.8 54,637 18.2 −22.5 30,285 −23.7 21,263 −19.4 1,964 −31.7 10 20 1,095 −28.3 Cavan 82,452 −9.6 69,383 −6.6 13,069 15.9 −22.7 10,102 −22.0 2,196 −22.8 468 −40.1 6 2 295 −7.1 Donegal 152,508 −9.5 124,941 −6.1 27,567 18.1 −22.4 13,774 −23.6 12,162 −19.0 1,202 −29.2 1 15 413 −45.1 Monaghan 65,131 −8.9 51,130 −4.2 14,001 21.5 −22.6 6,409 −26.5 6,905 −18.9 294 −25.6 3 3 387 −14.6 Occupations +Summary occupation statistics of the 1926 Irish Free State censusHooper John Census of Population, 1926 II Table 1: Numbers of Persons in Each Occupational Group in Saorstát Éireann, 18th April, 1926 Occupations of Males and Females in each Province, County, County Borough, Urban and Rural District September 1928 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume2/C_1926_V2_T1.pdf 1 18 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office LegendBacklink(Legend) Code Occupation Total Male Female 1 I. Agricultural occupations 672,129 550,172 121,957 1.1 I. A. Farmers and relatives assisting 533,025 412,763 120,262 1.2 I. B. Other agricultural occupations 139,104 137,409 1,695 2 II. Fishermen 5,753 5,736 17 3 III. Mining and quarrying occupations 2,599 2,590 9 4 IV. Other producers, makers and repairers 186,617 154,016 32,601 4.1 IV. A. Makers of foods, drinks and tobacco 22,993 18,038 4,955 4.11 IV. A. 1. Makers of foods 16,362 12,541 3,821 4.12 IV. A. 2. Makers of drinks 5,228 5,079 149 4.13 IV. A. 3. Makers of tobacco 1,403 418 985 4.2 IV. B. Textile workers 7,629 2,942 4,687 4.3 IV. C. Makers of apparel and textile goods 32,990 14,315 18,675 4.4 IV. D. Workers in hides and skins and makers of leather goods (not boots and shoes) 2,081 1,965 116 4.5 IV. E. Workers in wood and furniture 24,389 23,710 679 4.6 IV. F. Metal workers 27,696 27,313 383 4.7 IV. G. Electrical apparatus fitters and makers 3,117 3,084 33 4.8 IV. H. Workers in chemical processes, makers of fertilizers, soap, etc. 1,676 1,450 226 4.9 IV. I. Workers in, and makers of, paper and cardboard, printers, bookbinders, etc. 6,084 3,850 2,234 4.91 IV. J. Builders, bricklayers, stone and slate workers and contractors 47,671 47,557 114 4.92 IV. K. Painters and decorators 5,333 5,298 35 4.93 IV. L. Other producers, makers and repairers 4,958 4,494 464 4.999 I–IV. Total producers, makers and repairers 867,098 712,514 154,584 5 V. Workers in transport and communication 64,952 63,686 1,266 5.1 V. A. Railway workers 9,153 8,971 182 5.2 V. B. Road transport workers 25,241 25,116 125 5.3 V. C. Water transport workers 11,580 11,514 66 5.4 V. D. Other transport workers 18,978 18,085 893 6 VI. Commercial, finance and insurance occupations 85,008 56,520 28,488 7 VII Persons in public administration and defence (excluding professional men and typists) 37,333 33,348 3,985 8 VIII. Professional occupations (excluding clerks) 55,441 25,936 29,505 9 IX. Persons in personal service (including hotels, etc.) 127,842 18,381 109,461 9.1 IX. А. Domestic servants 90,198 2,645 87,553 9.2 IX. В. Other personal service 37,644 15,736 21,908 10 X. Clerks (not civil servants or local authority) and all typists 30,007 17,206 12,801 11 XI. Other gainful occupations 39,981 36,177 3,804 11.1 XI. A. Persons employed in entertainments and sport 4,325 3,448 877 11.2 XI. B. Warehousemen and assistants 6,935 4,592 2,343 11.3 XI. C. Stationary engine drivers 2,231 2,231 0 11.4 XI. D. Others 26,490 25,906 584 11.999 I–XI. Total occupied persons, 12 years and over 1,307,662 963,768 343,894 12 XII. Unoccupied persons 12 years and over 976,195 193,012 783,183 12.999 I–XII. Total persons 12 years and over 2,283,857 1,156,780 1,127,077 13 Total persons under 12 years of age 688,135 350,109 338,026 13.999 Total population 2,971,992 1,506,889 1,465,103 2026 publication After the Statistics Branch had finished processing the census forms, they were put in the custody of the Public Record Office of Ireland (PROI), which also stored the forms from the 1901 and 1911 censuses. Under the 1926 act, records from the 1926 and subsequent censuses were permanently sealed and only accessible to personnel of the Statistics Branch and from 1949 its successor, the Central Statistics Office (CSO).Linehan 1997–1998 p.68 By contrast, the 1901 and 1911 forms were unsealed in 1961 under older legislation,Connor Dylan Mills Gerald Moore-Cherry Niamh The 1911 Census and Dublin city: A spatial analysis Irish Geography July 2011 44 2-3 245–263 10.1080/00750778.2012.657950 free and subsequently photographed and microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU). In 1988 the PROI became part of the National Archives of Ireland (NAI). The Statistics Act 1993 repealed and replaced the Statistics Act 1926 and established 100 years as the time limit for which census forms remain legally sealed.Statistics Act 1993 https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1993/act/21/enacted/en/html electronic Irish Statute Book 19 April 2026 ss.7, 35 y 14 July 1993 In the late 2000s, the government began preparing a "Decade of Centenaries" commemorating events from 1912 to 1923 during the Irish revolutionary period. One element of the programme was genealogy tourism, with The Gathering Ireland 2013 as a highlight. In 2011 the NAI completed a project (largely outsourced to Library and Archives Canada) of digitisation of the 1901 and 1911 forms from the GSU microfilm.Kehoe Paul Paul Kehoe [Vol. 226 No. 12] Statistics (Heritage Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/seanad/2013-10-16/speech/192/ Seanad Éireann debate Oireachtas 18 April 2026 16 Oct 2013 These data were made freely accessible on the NAI website.Mag Raollaigh Joe 1901 Census Online https://www.rte.ie/archives/2025/0515/1513091-1901-census-online/ RTÉ Archives 18 April 2026 en 3 June 2010 Irish genealogists suggested amending the 1993 act to allow the 1926 census records to be published early as part of this effort.Merrigan Michael Release the 1926 Census! History Ireland Sep–Oct 2008 15 5 https://historyireland.com/release-the-1926-census/ Labhrás Ó Murchú introduced a private member's bill to that effect in Seanad Éireann, which lapsed at the 2011 general election.Statistics (Heritage Amendment) Bill 2010 – No. 36 of 2010 https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2010/36/ Bills Oireachtas 18 April 2026 en-ie 21 June 2010 The election led to a coalition government whose programme promised to "enable publication of the 1926 census to stimulate genealogy tourism".Fine Gael Labour Party Government for National Recovery 2011–2016 https://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Work_Of_The_Department/Programme_for_Government/Programme_for_Government_2011-2016.pdf#page=56 dead Department of the Taoiseach https://web.archive.org/web/20140513170255/https://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Work_Of_The_Department/Programme_for_Government/Programme_for_Government_2011-2016.pdf#page=56 2014-05-13 56 [Arts, Culture and Sport] y March 2011 Ó Murchú's reintroduced bill reached second stage in 2013, whereupon the government voted it down saying there were difficulties both technical (there was no microfilm version to expedite scanning of forms) and legal (right to privacy laws would necessitate redaction of the 1926 census details of those elderly persons still living at the time of publication). In November 2022 the Fianna Fáil–Fine Gael–Green government provided the NAI with €5M to begin digitisation of the 1926 forms in time for online publication on 18 April 2026, the centenary date.Department of Culture, Communications and Sport Digitisation of the 1926 Census 16 November 2022 https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/press-releases/digitisation-of-the-1926-census/ gov.ie 21 April 2026 en Since the project started before the 100-year limit, NAI personnel had to be accredited to the CSO to comply with the 1993 act. High- resolution colour scans were made of about 734,000 forms bound into 2,496 volumes, one per DED. Of these, 70,708 forms needed repair before scanning. Historians and genealogists granted preview access to the data were likewise accredited to the CSO and made to promise to delay publication of their findings until the centenary date.Grenham John The 1926 census? Wait ’till you see the redaction! https://www.johngrenham.com/blog/2026/03/04/the-1926-census-wait-till-you-see-the/ Irish Roots 18 April 2026 4 March 2026 The online publication data is structured and browsable by geographical area down to the levels of enumeration area and individual household. The original forms are viewable in image format. The initial release provides text format for name, address, sex, age, and religion, as both input and output of searches. Future phases are planned to provide text formatting of other fields.https://nationalarchives.ie/search-the-1926-census-2/phased-release-of-census-1926-information/ Phased release of Census 1926 information Census 1926 National Archives of Ireland 2026 11 May 2026 People recorded in the census and still living on publication date (all necessarily centenarians) are entitled by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) to have their personal details removed. About 1,200 relevant people known to the Department of Social Protection were contacted individually to provide or refuse permission; others can request removal by contacting the NAI.What you need to know about your information in the 1926 Census https://nationalarchives.ie/engage-and-learn/census-1926-public-programme/what-you-need-to-know-about-your-information-in-the-1926-census/ National Archives of Ireland 18 April 2026 Forty-eight centenarians agreed not only to have their data published but also to act as "ambassadors" publicising the census website; 9 of the 48 are nuns.Census 1926 Centenarian Ambassadors https://nationalarchives.ie/engage-and-learn/census-1926-public-programme/census-1926-centenarian-ambassadors/ National Archives 18 April 2026 Besides being of interest to genealogists and members of the Irish diaspora, the data has been anticipated by historians as a primary source for the demographic changes of the revolutionary period, especially by comparing individual records with those published previously from the 1911 census. This may help shed light on the controversial question of the causes of the relative decline in the Protestant population of the Free State over the period;Gillis Liz Moore Cormac Episode 4: The Protestant Population Of Ireland’s Border Counties https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/22598556-episode-4-the-protestant-population-of-irelands/ Come To Your Census RTÉ Radio 18 April 2026 en 18 April 2026Carroll Rory ‘Such a mix of people’: Ireland of 1926 was not monocultural, release of census shows https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/06/release-census-ireland-1926-not-monocultural 18 April 2026 The Guardian 6 April 2026 however, the loss of the records from the 1926 Northern Ireland census militates against this.Breathnach Ciara 80 million people globally claim Irish ancestry – why the release of 1926 Irish census records is so momentous https://theconversation.com/80-million-people-globally-claim-irish-ancestry-why-the-release-of-1926-irish-census-records-is-so-momentous-280746 The Conversation 18 April 2026 17 April 2026 Sources Linehan T. P. The development of official Irish statistics Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland 1997–1998 XXVII V 47–98 http://hdl.handle.net/2262/8523 18 April 2026 Dublin Lyon Stanley Census of Population, 1926 X General Reports October 1934 https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/census1926results/volume10/C_1926_V10.pdf 18 April 2026 Dublin Stationery Office P.No.1242 McGilligan Patrick S.R. &O. No.76/1926 — The Statistics (Census of Population) Order, 1926 https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1926/sro/76/made/en/print electronic Irish Statute Book 18 April 2026 22 March 1926 Footnotes Legend for tables: #7DFFFF Aggregate of the succeeding subcodes #FFE4F1 Aggregate of all preceding codes Population increased rather than decreased "n" References Further reading The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census Orlaith McBride John Gibney April 2026 9781788551816 Irish Academic Press Newbridge, County Kildare External links From the National Archives of Ireland: Census Public Programme Search the 1926 Census Aggregate data from the Central Statistics Office: Census 1926 reports published 1928–1934, PDFs of the chapters of the ten volumes Census 1926 Data interactive and downloadable tables expanded Irish Free State Census Category:April 2026 in Ireland Category:2026 in the Republic of Ireland Category:Censuses in the Republic of Ireland Category:Genealogy websites Category:Irish Free State