{"id":696,"date":"2024-11-20T10:20:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T10:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/national-archives.go-vip.net\/?page_id=696"},"modified":"2025-01-29T12:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T12:37:11","slug":"census-records-1821-1891","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/","title":{"rendered":"Census Records 1821-1891"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<section id=\"block-block_d31c33989d0b42d4d440d6d7141a242f\" class=\"landing-page-header-block title-width-default block-row-02-type-share block-row-02-share-position-top intro-full-width image-background\" data-style=\"style-01\">    \n\n\t<div class=\"header \">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bg-image\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Image from the start of the 20th century of a family in Ireland in front of a cottage, overlaid with an image of a census from the time.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg 2400w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=300,192 300w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=768,492 768w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=1024,656 1024w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=1536,984 1536w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=2048,1312 2048w, https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/01\/Census.jpg?resize=600,384 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"translation-notice\">\n        <div class=\"inner container\">\n            <p><strong>Cuirfear aistri\u00fach\u00e1n ar f\u00e1il go luath<\/strong><\/p>\n            <p>\u00c1r leithsc\u00e9al as an m\u00edchaoithi\u00falacht. Cuirfear aistri\u00fach\u00e1n Gaeilge ar an leathanach seo ar f\u00e1il go luath. Go raibh maith agat as do chuid foighneachta agus muid ag obair ar leagan uasd\u00e1taithe.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"intro\">\n\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"heading-0\">Census records 1821-1891<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- mobile -->\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"header-row-02\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"share\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"share-button pulse fade-in\" data-js=\"share-button\">SHARE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\t<span class=\"notification-top\" data-js=\"share-copied\">URL copied to clipboard<\/span>\n\n\n<section id=\"block-block_5d756df92f4ee332502c9a00a47b3583\" class=\"content-tile-block nai-block margin-top-none margin-bottom-default image_right text-regular text-black bg-white no-border-top smaller-heading\" data-layout=\"layout-1-1\">        \n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image\" data-image=\"cover\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"quote \" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote>The majority of Irish census returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were destroyed in a fire during the Irish Civil War in 1922.<\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-content cms-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A government census of the Irish population was taken every 10 years between 1821 and 1911. Unfortunately, many of these original records have been destroyed. This can make researching Irish history and genealogy challenging.<\/p>\n<div id=\"awebChromeHelper\" data-version=\"1.23.6\"><\/div>\n<h2>Missing and destroyed census records 1821 &#8211; 1891<\/h2>\n<p>The majority of Irish census returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were destroyed in a fire during the Irish Civil War in 1922.<\/p>\n<p>No individual household returns exist for the years 1861, 1871, 1881 or 1891.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The returns for 1861 and 1871 were deliberately destroyed in 1877 after analysis was complete.<\/li>\n<li>The returns for 1881 and 1891 were destroyed during the First World War, due to a paper shortage. This decision was made after the data had been analysed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Surviving returns 1821 &#8211; 1851<\/h2>\n<p>The 1841 and 1851 censuses are particularly useful as they list members of the household who were not at home on census night, as well as family members who had died since 1831\/ 1841.<\/p>\n<p>Although almost all original census returns for the years 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were destroyed in 1922, official copies of a small number of individual returns made by staff of the former Public Records Office of Ireland (PROI), or others, prior to this date have survived.<\/p>\n<p>A list of 19th century copies and certified copies is available for consultation in the Reading Room.<\/p>\n<h3>Surviving original census returns<\/h3>\n<p>Some original census returns for specific counties and years survived the 1922 fire. These surviving records are available to search online.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Antrim: 1851<\/li>\n<li>Belfast city: 1851 (one ward only)<\/li>\n<li>Cavan: 1821, 1841<\/li>\n<li>Cork: 1841<\/li>\n<li>Dublin city: 1851 (index to heads of household only)<\/li>\n<li>Fermanagh: 1821, 1841, 1851<\/li>\n<li>Galway: 1821<\/li>\n<li>King\u2019s County (Offaly): 1821<\/li>\n<li>Londonderry (Derry): 1831, 1834 revisions<\/li>\n<li>Meath: 1821<\/li>\n<li>Waterford: 1841<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In many cases, only one or two records survive for a family in a particular county for a given year.<\/p>\n<div id=\"awebChromeHelper\" data-version=\"1.23.6\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ctas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"primary-button color-default size-default\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/browse\/\" target=\"\">Browse the surviving census returns<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"21\" height=\"21\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 21\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M8.13743 5.21478C7.812 4.88934 7.28436 4.88934 6.95892 5.21478C6.63348 5.54022 6.63348 6.06786 6.95892 6.39329L11.3697 10.804L6.95892 15.2148C6.63348 15.5402 6.63348 16.0679 6.95892 16.3933C7.28436 16.7187 7.812 16.7187 8.13743 16.3933L13.1374 11.3933C13.4629 11.0679 13.4629 10.5402 13.1374 10.2148L8.13743 5.21478Z\" fill=\"white\"\/><\/svg><\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>    \n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":476,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-696","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-29T12:37:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/\",\"name\":\"Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-20T10:20:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-29T12:37:11+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"D\u00e9an ini\u00fachadh ar na baili\u00fach\u00e1in\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Search the census\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Census Records 1821-1891\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/\",\"name\":\"An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta","og_url":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/","og_site_name":"An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta","article_modified_time":"2025-01-29T12:37:11+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/","url":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/","name":"Census Records 1821-1891 - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-11-20T10:20:32+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-29T12:37:11+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/census-records-1821-1891\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"D\u00e9an ini\u00fachadh ar na baili\u00fach\u00e1in","item":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Search the census","item":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/search-the-census\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Census Records 1821-1891"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/","name":"An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4452,"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/696\/revisions\/4452"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}