What the resource contains
The full learning resource has three parts: a pack introducing the 1926 Census and its historical context, a guidance note for teachers on using census records in the classroom, and a set of lesson plans. Each element is self‑contained and designed to support teachers in bringing census records directly into their teaching.
Across post‑primary levels, the resource gives students meaningful practice in working with a primary source. It encourages historical empathy, close reading, questioning what the census does and does not show, drawing comparisons across time and place, and weighing what a document can and cannot be relied on to prove. It connects directly with themes at the heart of the post‑primary syllabus — including changes in women’s lives over the twentieth century, the role of individuals and organisations, the lived experience of minorities, and the economic forces shaping the period. It supports both group work and debate, and helps build the research, analytical and communication skills central to post‑primary learning.
A full breakdown of the specific curriculum learning outcomes supported at Junior Cycle, Transition Year and Senior Cycle is available within the resource pack.
Using the census for historical research in the classroom
The census is an exceptionally rich source for any history classroom: a large body of evidence, digitised to a high standard and freely available. One of its greatest strengths is its ability to place students in the role of a researcher — prompting them to ask questions, interrogate the source, and consider what it can tell us about the past. The learning resource includes lesson plans to support this work, but the following starting points can help a class begin engaging with the records directly.
- Start with a question — Searching for a surname produces an answer; searching for a place produces a problem to solve. Ask how many households shared a building, how many children were in school, who could speak Irish, and the returns become something to investigate rather than something to look up.
- Work in both directions — Form A shows the household: names, ages, relationships, birthplaces, religion, occupation, employer, Irish language, and marital status. Form B shows the street or townland: which buildings were private dwellings, how many families lived in each, and how many rooms they had. Moving between the two helps students understand the difference between an individual case and a wider pattern — a central skill in historical thinking.
- Count things — A single DED can be tabulated by occupation, household size, age structure or language. This lets students generate their own evidence base and test claims against it.
- Separate fact from inference — The census records what was written on a form on one night in April. It does not tell us whether it was true, who decided what to write, or what was left out. A fifteen‑year‑old listed as a general labourer is evidence of what the head of household declared, not proof of what that child did all day. Students should routinely identify which of their statements the document supports and which are reasonable inferences.
- Corroborate — No census answers a question on its own. The pack points to civil records on IrishGenealogy.ie, the Irish Newspaper Archive (free to schools through Scoilnet), Ordnance Survey mapping through Scoilnet Maps, the Bureau of Military History and Military Service Pensions Collection, the National Folklore Collection’s Schools’ Collection, the Irish Film Institute’s newsreels, and local authority archives. Checking a census entry against one other source teaches students about evidence and the historical process.
- Remember whose records these are — Students may find their own relatives, including in institutional returns. A short reminder that these entries belong to real families is essential before beginning any search. More guidance on ethics, data, and offensive language is included in the Guidance Note for Teachers.