As the National Archives of Ireland prepares to publish the 1926 census online this spring, a public programme to accompany its release will explore the historical, social and genealogical significance of the first census of the Irish Free State.
In October last year, the National Archives of Ireland announced a major public programme in advance of the release of the 1926 census. The National Archives will make the entire census – comprising more than 700,000 individual household returns – freely available and fully searchable online on 18 April this year. This will be the first time a census of the Irish Free State has been published online.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The programme will unfold over several months and will include a wide range of cultural, educational and creative events designed to explore the historical significance of the census and its relevance to Irish society today.
Centenarian ambassadors
As part of this programme, the National Archives is seeking “centenarian ambassadors” who were alive at the time of the 1926 census. It is estimated that more than 1,000 people recorded in the census are still living, and these individuals offer a unique, living perspective on the past century of Irish life. The ambassador initiative aims to capture first-hand personal testimony from those who will see their own original family records made public in April. Anyone interested in becoming a centenarian ambassador is invited to contact the National Archives at census1926@nationalarchives.ie.
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Exhibitions
Other highlights of the programme include a touring exhibition that will travel across Ireland, bringing the census to communities nationwide. Major exhibitions will also be hosted in April and May at Dublin Castle, the British Academy in London and Boston College, to acknowledge the significance of the census to the Irish diaspora.
A landmark RTÉ documentary airing in April will present new interpretations of the census and will feature historians alongside descendants of those recorded.
A F F I L I A T E A D
New book
Scholarly engagement with the census will also be supported through the publication of a new book, The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census, which will bring together 18 essays by leading historians examining themes such as identity, migration, language and everyday life.
Conference and talks
A major conference in Dublin in June will provide a forum for scholars, archivists and the public to reflect on the legacy of the census, while a series of talks, workshops and presentations will support family and local history research.
Creative responses include a theatrical production by ANU Productions at the National Archives in May, which will explore the human stories behind the census data.
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Educational outreach will form a further strand of the programme, with a dedicated teachers’ pack and learning resource to be made available to schools.
Full details of individual events, including dates and booking information, will be announced over the coming weeks and months.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
For historians, genealogists and anyone with an interest in family history, this programme offers an important opportunity to engage with the foundations of modern Ireland, to connect with familial roots and to better understand the lives of those recorded in the State’s first census.
Readers are also reminded to save the date >> 18 April 2026 << when the 1926 census will be released online for free on the National Archives of Ireland website.
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