Only the 1901 and 1911 Censuses are fully intact and can be viewed in the National Archive and the National Library . Of the earlier records, a small sections of some census survived for certain parishes, and these are listed below

Pre-1821 research will involve alternative sources. There are equivalents dating from the 1600's, but the information can be patchy.

A Census is a rich source of genealogical information. But unfortunately in the case of Ireland a large amount of records were lost in a fire in Dublin's four Courts during the civil war and others due to paper shortages in the First World War.

1821 Census contained information on name, ages, occupation and relation to head of household, number of acres held by head of household and number of stories in the house. Some fragments remain for Cavan, Galway, Meath and Fermanagh.

1831 Census : This was also to a large extent lost in the Four Courts fire with the exception of some areas of County Derry.

1841 Census : Only Census returns for the parish of Killseshandra, Co. Cavan survived from this year.

1851 Census : Some fragments from Co. Armagh remain

1861, 1871 Census : both destroyed by Government order once statistics had been extracted and to allow for confidentiality.

1881 and 1891 Census were also destroyed by Government Order, but this time due to paper shortages in the First World War.

1901, 1911 Census : For reasons of privacy, normally Census records are not released to the general public until 100 years have elapsed. But due the loss of most of the earlier records and exception has been made, and both are available for research.

Census returns are available in the National Library. You will need to find a reference number for the Town land (locality within a County) of interest to you. There are indexes available to help you do this. You can then find the specific segment of the Census of interest to you.

The 1901 Census gives, Name, Relationship to head of family, Religion, Ability to Read and write, Age, Occupation, Marital Status, County of Birth, Ability to speak Irish.

The 1911 Census contained a little more information from the Woman of the Household giving the number of years married, number of Children born. and number alive.

To see an extract from the 1901 Census, click here .

Census Substitutes

Given the loss of much of the 19th Century Census information for Ireland, any alternate source of information proves hugely valuable in your search. A Census Substitute is really anything with more than a  number of names listed. Both Griffith's Valuation and the Tithe Applotment Books are considered substitutes. But there are also other sources going back much earlier. 

One of the most significant of these is 'A Census of Ireland' dating from 1659. This was commissioned during the time of Cromwell to give a clear picture of  the ownership of land in Ireland at the time. It divides areas by County, Barony, parish and Townland, giving the numbers living in each area and the proportion of Irish, English and Scottish.  The most prominent inhabitants of a district where listed a 'Titulado'. Records from the 'Census' survive for all Counties but Wicklow, Tyrone, Mayo, Cavan and Galway. The work was edited by Seamus Pender and published in 1939. And for this reason is commonly known as Pender's Census.

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