The publication of the records of the 1926 Census for the first time has been marked at an official state function at Dublin Castle, hosted by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, and Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD. The National Archives officially released the 1926 Census records at midnight, following the expiration of the one-hundred-year limitation on their publication under the Statistics Act 1993.
The Release of the 1926 Census
The National Archives made the entire census freely available and fully searchable on www.nationalarchives.ie at midnight. The newly released records provide an unprecedented resource, allowing users to efficiently navigate detailed household returns from 1926.
The preparation of the 1926 Census for public release has been a major project for the National Archives and the State, supported by a €5 million Government investment. The initiative which took almost three years, saw the careful conservation, preservation, high-resolution digitisation, and transcription of over 750,000 individual household and enumerator returns.
Speaking at Dublin Castle today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD commented:
“I’m honoured to mark the official release of Census 1926 by the National Archives, the first census undertaken by the independent Irish Free State.
“When we think back to 1926, ten years after the Easter Rising and following a decade of conflict and upheaval; from the War of Independence to the Civil War, Census 1926 shows the ambition of the new state to carry-out a census of the 2.9 million people living in Ireland as part of its programme of nation-building and to do so, so soon after independence was a bold and visionary decision. As such, Census 1926 marks a historic moment in the development of modern Ireland.
“For people across Ireland, the release of the 1926 Census offers something deeply personal. It allows us to step back in time and encounter our own families, neighbours and communities as they were almost a century ago. It brings history out of the abstract and into the everyday.”
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD added:
“This is a significant day for the country and our diaspora as we see for the first time in a century the records of how we lived in 1926. I want to congratulate the team at the National Archives for their trojan work in getting us to today – not only through carefully cataloguing and preserving the records for generations to come, but also in putting together such a comprehensive programme of activities to allow people to engage with this important part of our history.
“Indeed, there are over 1,000 people alive today who were recorded in the 1926 Census. These individuals offer a unique, living perspective on the past century of Irish life. The National Archives launched a Centenarian Ambassadors Programme last year which captures the first-hand personal testimony of those who see their own original family records made public today. It is wonderful to see some of them here this afternoon.”
Also speaking at the launch Director of the National Archives, Orlaith McBride said:
“As we open these census records to the public, we honour those who came before us their resilience, their ambition, and their contribution to the Ireland we know today.
“But perhaps most importantly, today reminds us that the history of Ireland is not only found in great events or political milestones — it is found in the lived experiences of its people. Every entry in this census represents an individual life, a family unit, a shared human story that together forms the fabric of our nation.”
Central Statistics Office (CSO) Director General Jennifer Banim added:
“The Census is a record of our past, a measure of the present and a plan for the future. Today’s release of the 1926 Census records shows the value of gathering, and preserving, this data. I would like to acknowledge the excellent work of the National Archives, and all those in the CSO, who have contributed to this historic release. We in the CSO are proud to continue the long tradition of census taking in Ireland with Census 2027 providing an online option for the first time, marking another milestone in the history of the state.”
The Story Of Us Exhibition
To mark the release of the 1926 census, the National Archives has opened a major exhibition that explores what life was like in the newly independent Ireland of 1926. Using contemporary documents and images, audio-visual displays and, above all, the census returns themselves, The Story of Us explores the 1926 census to present a picture of life in Ireland in 1926: from sport and entertainment to language, culture, religion, gender and the working lives of the inhabitants of the Irish Free State a century ago.
The exhibition, which was also officially opened by An Taoiseach and the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport today, will run at Dublin Castle, opening to the public from 19 April until 15 August 2027.
The exhibition will visit London and Boston, before touring Ireland, as part of a partnership with ten local authorities, as well as a visit to the National Ploughing Championships in September.
Centenarian Ambassadors
Among the attendees at Dublin Castle on Saturday were some of the ‘Centenarian Ambassadors’ announced earlier this week. The programme captured the first-hand personal testimonies of those who were alive at the time the census was taken in 1926, which offer a unique and fascinating perspective on the past century of Irish life. Almost 100 people contacted the National Archives throughout the programme, and the 48 selected ambassadors today live all over Ireland as well as in North America, the UK and Australia.
National Archives Director Orlaith McBride said:
“The census has never been about lists and numbers; it’s the story of us. It’s about the people living in Ireland in 1926 and all of their descendants today. Whether through the centenarian ambassadors, this exhibition, the book and all the other elements of our extensive public programme, throughout this project we have aimed to ensure the stories, information and human connections revealed by the census reach as many people as possible, in Ireland and around the world.”
Broader Public Programme
As well as the exhibition, The Census 1926 public programme also includes a number of other key components.
A new book, The Story Of Us – Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census has been published by Irish Academic Press and is on sale now. Featuring contributions from key members of the National Archives team and leading social historians, the book captures a number of unique perspectives on the census and the Ireland in which it was taken.
On 4 June, The National Archives in partnership with the OPW, will host the Exploring the 1926 Census Conference, a full-day programme of keynote lectures, thematic panels, and discussions, exploring the census as both a historical document and a contemporary resource.
The Good Luck Club, presented by ANU Productions, will run on site at the National Archives, opening on 27 May, while a major two-part documentary series Come to your Census, will air on RTÉ television next month, with an accompanying six-part RTÉ podcast series released.