1901 and 1911 Census digitisation project
All 1901 and 1911 census returns now online
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A census of the Irish population was taken every ten years from 1821 until 1911 and manuscript returns for each household survive for all 32 counties for 1901 and 1911. The returns are arranged by townland in rural areas and by street in urban areas. The returns for each townland or street consist of:
(a) Forms (Forms A) were filled in by the head of each household, giving the names of all people in that household on census night and their age, occupation, religion and country of birth.
(b) Forms (Forms N, B1, B2) were filled in by the official taking the census, summarising the returns for that townland or street.
James Joyce's family census
return, 1901
(NAI, Census 1901, Dublin, 28/16) - please double-click to enlarge
De Valera family census return,
1911
(NAI, Census 1911, Dublin, 56/39) - please double-click to enlarge
View text versions of the 1901 census return for the family of James Joyce and the 1911 census return for the family of Eamon de Valera
No manuscript returns survive for 1861, 1871, 1881 and 1891 but there are some returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 covering parts of counties Antrim, Cavan, Cork, Fermanagh, Galway, King's County (Offaly), Londonderry (Derry), Meath and Waterford.
A list of names of heads of household in the returns of 1851 for Belfast City and Dublin City can be consulted in the Reading Room as can the 1851 Dublin City Census, Chart's Index of Heads of Household CD-ROM compiled and edited by Seán Magee (Eneclann, 2001).
There are also census search forms for each county giving the results of searches made in the returns of (largely) 1841 and 1851 for old age pension purposes and these are organised, within each county by barony, parish, townland and the name of the applicant. The result of the search is also noted, though a positive search did not necessarily locate the applicant.
An index to the 1841 and 1851 census returns is to be found in the Old Age Pension Act claim forms which have survived and which are available to consult on microfilm in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland while there are also some other copies made from the returns of 1821-1851 available to consult in the Reading Room of the National Archives.
The (so-called) Agricultural Census for county Antrim, 1803-1804 and County Louth, c.1800-1816, is available in the National Archives under Official Papers OP 153/103 and OPA 163 respectively. This is not a census as such, but rather returns of live and dead stock as well as corn and implements, returns taken when the country was in a vulnerable military state.
Although differing significantly in format and the type of information found in the censuses taken in the 19th and early 20th centuries as described above, another source for genealogical research is the religious census of 1766, authorised by the Irish House of Lords in March of that year "to return a list of the several families in their parishes to this House on the first Monday after the Recess, distinguishing which are Protestants and which are Papists, as also a list of the several reputed Popish priests and friars residing in their parishes". This census survives in original or transcript form and is organised under the headings of parish, county and diocese and a list of the returns for each diocese is available to search. Download diocesan returns list - pdf format.
The Elphin Census (M 2464) for the Church of Ireland diocese of Elphin has now been edited by Marie-Louise Legg as The Elphin Census, 1749 (IMC, 2004). The data for this census was collected under the direction of Edward Synge, the bishop of Elphin who was anxious to know the proportion of Protestants to "Papists" - the census revealed the ratio to be 3 Protestants to 39 "Papists". There are no surviving details as to the identity of the enumerators or as to how the census was conducted.
“Some Inhabitants of the Baronies of Newcastle and Uppercross, Co. Dublin, c.1650” (M 2467) has been edited by Richard Flatman for the Irish Genealogical Research Society (volumes 7-8, 1989-1993). It details lists of householders and servants organised according to parishes and townlands - the fullest entries include name, age, stature, face, hair, occupation and disability and approximately 4,000 names are returned.