{"id":409981,"date":"2026-04-21T12:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/409981\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:26:11","slug":"the-start-of-our-republic-1926-census-opens-for-limerick-and-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/409981\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The start of our Republic’: 1926 census opens for Limerick and Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/
\n Via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\n The census offers the first freely available digital snapshot of the Irish Free State’s early years.\n <\/p>\n

The 1926 Census, the first-ever demographic snapshot of the Irish Free State, was released to the public this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For researchers and families across the Midwest, the digital archive offers an unprecedented look at how the region was rebuilt following the decade of revolution.<\/p>\n

Catriona Crowe of Limerick Genealogy described it as a “long-awaited” milestone for anyone tracing their family roots or local history.<\/p>\n

Ireland remains one of the few countries to make its census records freely available online.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike the UK or the US, where similar archives often require paid subscriptions, the National Archives of Ireland has digitised over 700,000 household returns from the 1926 count and made them searchable at no cost.<\/p>\n

“We are really the only country who have made their records freely available,” Crowe said on Live 95’s Limerick Today. “It has a real significance in terms of the start of our new republic.”<\/p>\n

The census captures a moment of massive industrial change in Limerick.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most notably, the returns for Ardnacrusha show that approximately\u00a0700 men were recorded as working on the construction of the Shannon Scheme.<\/p>\n

Because Siemens was the lead contractor, the census shows a significant cluster of German nationals living in the area, often providing specific town-of-birth details that allow descendants to trace their lineage back to Germany.<\/p>\n

Beyond the major projects, the 1926 forms included more specific details than the earlier 1901 and 1911 versions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the first time, people were asked to name their specific employer. “It\u2019s a lot more personal,” Crowe explained. “You might see they were working in Todds or one of the local chemists that might still be there today.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The National Archives identified approximately 1,200 people featured in the 1926 census who are still alive today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Under modern GDPR rules, these centenarians were asked for their consent before their 100-year-old information was made public.<\/p>\n

For most, however, the census serves as a connection to a generation that has passed. “It offers a real opportunity for us to see parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents,” said Crowe.<\/p>\n

Crowe highlighted that the Irish language was in a period of decline during the 1920s, despite some people using the 1911 census forms to write in Irish as a form of political protest against British rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 1926, the new State was established, and the census reflects a nation transitioning toward self-governance.<\/p>\n

For those eager to find their own “missing piece” of the family jigsaw, the 1926 census is now available to search on the National Archives website.
\u00a0<\/p>\n

\\n\\n<\/p>\n

The census captures a moment of massive industrial change in Limerick. \\n\\n<\/p>\n

Most notably, the returns for Ardnacrusha show that approximately 700 men were recorded as working on the construction of the Shannon Scheme.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

Because Siemens was the lead contractor, the census shows a significant cluster of German nationals living in the area, often providing specific town-of-birth details that allow descendants to trace their lineage back to Germany.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

Beyond the major projects, the 1926 forms included more specific details than the earlier 1901 and 1911 versions. \\n\\n<\/p>\n

For the first time, people were asked to name their specific employer. "It’s a lot more personal," Crowe explained. "You might see they were working in Todds or one of the local chemists that might still be there today."\\n\\n<\/p>\n

\\\"\\\"\\n\\n<\/p>\n

The National Archives identified approximately 1,200 people featured in the 1926 census who are still alive today. \\n\\n<\/p>\n

Under modern GDPR rules, these centenarians were asked for their consent before their 100-year-old information was made public.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

For most, however, the census serves as a connection to a generation that has passed. "It offers a real opportunity for us to see parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents," said Crowe.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

Crowe highlighted that the Irish language was in a period of decline during the 1920s, despite some people using the 1911 census forms to write in Irish as a form of political protest against British rule. \\n\\n<\/p>\n

By 1926, the new State was established, and the census reflects a nation transitioning toward self-governance.\\n\\n<\/p>\n

For those eager to find their own "missing piece" of the family jigsaw, the 1926 census is now available to search on the National Archives website.
\\n “,”image”:”https:\\\/\\\/mmo.aiircdn.com\\\/301\\\/69e76262a65ba.jpg”,”datePublished”:”2026-04-21T11:46:50+00:00″,”url”:”https:\\\/\\\/www.live95fm.ie\\\/news\\\/live95-news\\\/the-start-of-our-republic-1926-census-opens-for-limerick-and-ireland\\\/”,”publisher”:{“@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”Limerick’s Live 95″},”headline”:”‘The start of our Republic’: 1926 census opens for Limerick and Ireland”,”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”Live95 News Team”}}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Via Getty Images The census offers the first freely available digital snapshot of the Irish Free State’s early…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,608,611,607,610,609,612,43],"class_list":["post-409981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-limerick-radio","tag-limerick-today","tag-limericks-live95fm","tag-live-95","tag-live95fm","tag-live95fm-homepage","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}