More Counties Added to 1911 Ireland Census

An additional five counties have been added to the National Archives of Ireland's Census of Ireland 1911 Web site. Census returns for Cork, Donegal, Galway, King's County (Offaly) and Wexford join those from Antrim, Down, Dublin and Kerry that were released last year. Best of all, these census records, including the searchable index and digitized images, are free!

The 1911 and 1901 Ireland censuses are the only surviving censuses that cover the entire island of Ireland open to the public. They are also unusual because the original household manuscripts, filled out and signed by the head of each household on census day, survive. The surviving census returns of most other countries only include enumerator books, with family details transcribed by the census taker from the householder returns (introducing the opportunity for additional errors).

The latest news from the National Archives of Ireland indicates that they hope to add the following additional counties by mid-July: Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Fermanagh, Kildare, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Limerick, Mayo and Waterford. Hopefully, followed in mid-August, by Londonderry (Derry), Longford, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Queen’s County (Laois), Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Westmeath and Wicklow.

In September, the site will be revised to include full transcription of all of the data on the household forms for 1911, including religion, occupation, relationship to head of family, literacy status, marital status, county or country of origin, Irish language proficiency, specified illnesses, and child survival information.

The National Archives of Ireland also hopes to launch the 1901 Ireland census, with all data transcribed, late in 2009.