A group of 48 men and women who were alive when the 1926 census was taken have been appointed centenarian ambassadors by the National Archives to mark the release of the census.
A new programme by the National Archives of Ireland marking the release of the 1926 census has appointed 48 centenarian ambassadors – individuals who were alive at the time of the census and whose names appear in the original records.
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Born between 1920 and 1926, the ambassadors were selected from almost 100 centenarians who made contact with the National Archives. Together they represent communities across the island of Ireland. Members of the Irish diaspora in the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia are also represented.
A living connection to 1926
As part of the programme, each ambassador took part in a filmed conversation reflecting on personal life experiences. These video and photo stories will be used in public events associated with the census rollout and retained by the National Archives as part of its permanent historical collection. Their accounts offer a rare, living perspective on a century of Irish social history.
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Joseph Davis from Cork, one of the centenarian ambassadors, described the experience as deeply meaningful:
“It’s an honour to be chosen as one of the ambassadors for this programme. To still be here more than one hundred years after being recorded in the census back in 1926 is a privilege and a gift. It was a trip down a long memory lane sharing my story with the team at the National Archives and I hope people find our stories interesting.”
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National Archives Director Orlaith McBride said the initiative brought into focus the people behind the records, observing that “the census isn’t about lists and numbers; it’s about the people living in Ireland in 1926 and all of their descendants today.”
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Census 1926 centenarian ambassadors
The following individuals, all born between 1920 and 1926, are centenarian ambassadors:
- Sr Eileen Creagh, Australia
- John Larkin, Canada
- Charlotte Elizabeth Kinkade, Cavan
- Joan Coll, Clare
- Sr Miriam Twohig, Cork
- Joseph Patrick Davis, Cork
- Kathleen Gibbings, Cork
- Kathleen Fitzgibbon, Cork
- Noelle Newenham, Cork
- Margaret Mary Walsh, Cork
- Mary Hosford, Cork & Dublin
- Susie Boyle, Donegal
- Sr Florence Hutchinson, Donegal
- Catherine Leahy, Dublin
- Eileen Casey, Dublin
- Joseph Courtney, Dublin
- Máire Walsh, Dublin
- Mary Gilsenan, Dublin
- Moya Connelly, Dublin
- Michael Hickey, Dublin
- Pauline Kearns, Dublin
- Sarah Dwyer, Dublin
- Jeremiah Murphy, Dublin
- Seamus Shelly, Dublin
- Denis O’Donovan, Dublin
- Marie Tubbert, Dublin
- Sr Mary Patricia Lynn, Fermanagh
- Bridget Mary O’Connor, Galway
- Sr Agatha Durkan, Galway
- Sr Dorothy Duggan, Galway
- Sr Felicitas Geraghty, Galway
- Sr Paul Carmody, Galway
- Anne Meskell, Limerick
- Bridget Landers, Limerick & Cork
- Mary Bannon, London
- Patrick Kenny, London
- Breda Bridget Robertson, London
- Bridget Joyce, Mayo
- George O’Connor, Meath
- Ann Carey, Meath
- Sr Bosco Daly, Offaly
- Maureen Hanley, Offaly
- Frances Conroy, Tipperary
- Nancy Lally, Chicago
- Moira Toomey Putman, Illinois
- Bridget Keating, Waterford
- John Patrick McNaboe, Westmeath
- Iris Suzannah Dungan, Wexford
READ NOW
➤ Some helpful tips for searching the 1926 census records
➤ Release of AGI’s free guide to the 1926 census
➤ A closer look at the public programme for the 1926 census release
➤ CSO releases 1926 census data on occupations
➤ Free guide explains how to search surviving fragments of Ireland’s lost 19th-century census records
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