Douglas Hyde (1860–1949), or Dubhglas de hÍde as he was also known, served as the first president of Ireland from 1938 to 1945, but what can the census returns of 1901 and 1911 tell us about the future statesman?
The 1901 Census
The 1901 census return was filled out by Douglas Hyde, then in his early 40s. The document shows that he was living at Ratra House, Frenchpark, Co. Roscommon, with his wife Lucy Cometina and two daughters, six-year-old Nuala Eibhlin and four-year-old Mary Úna who was known by her second name.
As we can see in the census return, Hyde was born in Castlerea in Roscommon. Hyde’s father, Rev. Arthur Hyde, was a Church of Ireland rector whose family seat was Castle Hyde near Fermoy, Co. Cork. In c.1867 Rev. Arthur Hyde became rector of Tibohine, Co. Roscommon and the family moved to nearby Frenchpark.
The religion of the Hyde family is recorded in the census return as “Protestant Episcopal Church in Ireland”. Hyde’s Protestantism was in fact one of the main reasons he was chosen as president. In 1937 Hyde was selected, after inter-party negotiations, to be the first president of Ireland in part to display the religious tolerance of the Irish state.
The Frenches (Lords de Freyne) of Frenchpark were related to the Hydes. The “House and Building Return” (Form B1) of the 1901 census indicates that the Hydes were leasing Ratra House from the Honourable J. French. The lease had been in place since 1894 for £50 a year. Form B1 tells us that the house was categorized as a 1st class house, the only building in Ratra carrying this classification. We learn that it was a substantial house with at least 17 rooms and 19 windows to the front. There were an impressive 16 associated outhouses/farm buildings recorded in the census return.
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Hyde remained close to the Frenches throughout much of his life. But by the beginning of the 20th century, Lord de Freyne’s treatment of his tenants and enactment of draconian evictions had become a public scandal, which affected Hyde’s reputation by association long after. Over 36,000 acres of the Frenchpark estate were vested in the Congested Districts Board in 1906, which included Ratra House. Around this time the Gaelic League – of which Hyde was president – purchased Ratra House and gifted it to Hyde.
The 1901 census return informs us that Hyde and both his daughters could speak English and Irish. In the mid-19th century when Rev. Arthur Hyde moved the family to Frenchpark, the older generations living in the area still spoke Irish. There Hyde learned “Roscommon Irish” by speaking to local country people.
In particular, he was very close to Lord de Freyne’s gamekeeper, Seamus Hart, a fluent Irish speaker and old Fenian, who taught Hyde much about Irish culture, language and lore.
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In 1877 Hyde joined the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language and the following year he joined the Gaelic Union, where he served on its council. In 1893 he helped to found Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) to encourage the preservation of Irish language, culture, music and dance. He even wrote a manifesto called The Necessity for de-Anglicising the Irish Nation.
Hyde’s profession is listed in the 1901 census as “Examiner in R.U.I of independent means. Irish author. L.L.D.”. LLD is a reference to his law qualifications awarded in 1888 at Trinity College Dublin. Although he often cited this qualification, law never held any appeal for him and he never actually practised.
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Instead, he sought an academic career. RUI refers to the Royal University of Ireland. Catholics had long felt that the atmosphere of Trinity was unwelcoming and the Royal University in Dublin was founded to deliver higher education in a non-sectarian environment. But, in reality, it was more of an examining and degree-awarding body than a teaching university. Here Hyde worked as one of their examiners.
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In relation to his writing career, from 1879 – using the pen-name “An Craoibhín Aoibhinn” (“The Pleasant Little Branch”) – he published hundreds of original Irish-language poems and plays often with nationalistic overtones. In 1882, he helped establish the monthly magazine Gaelic Journal. He collaborated with renowned writers, such as Yeats and Lady Gregory. Forever collecting Irish folkloric material, he published numerous bilingual collections of folk tales and folk poetry, one of the best known being Love Songs of Connaught (published 1893).
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Also part of the Hyde household in 1901 were 21-year-old Roscommon woman Mary Agnes Callaghan (waitress/domestic servant) and 45-year-old Galway woman Nóra Annie Callanan (cook), both Roman Catholics, as well as Euphemia Mary Scott from Longford, a 19-year-old “mother’s help” (governess is crossed out), who, like the family, was a member of the Church of Ireland.
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The 1911 Census
The 1911 census return reveals changes in Douglas Hyde’s living arrangements and occupation but also a shift in his approach to filling out this official form. The census return is largely in Irish, using Gaelic script. He is listed as Dubhglas de h-Íde and his wife as Lúsaoi Bean D. de h-Íde, with the English translations added in brackets after.
The provision of an Irish translation for his wife’s name is interesting. Born Lucy Cometina Kurtz into a wealthy family in Berlin, they moved when she was just a baby to England. During their courtship, Lucy, an artist and heiress, had been enthusiastic about Hyde’s love of Irish and embarked on learning the language herself, although she had no prior connections with Ireland.
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But soon Lucy came to believe that the Gaelic League was exploiting her husband and she grew to hate the language.
Within a few short years of her marriage to Hyde in 1893, she fell ill and her illness persisted until her death in 1938. Hyde devoted considerable effort to caring for her but Lucy probably had little say in how she was listed in the census; her disdain for the Irish language was evidently ignored by her husband. The couple were now married 18 years.
By 1911 the four members of the Hyde family were living in the prestigious neighbourhood of Earlsfort Place (Fitzwilliam) in Dublin city. Again their home was categorized as a 1st class house, but this time it was in an area of exclusively 1st class houses. It was a substantial dwelling, with at least 10 rooms and a stable. Now living with the family were two domestic servants, 23-year-old Mary Elizabeth Blanchfield from Kilkenny and 44-year-old Margaret Kinsella from Co. Wexford, both Catholics.
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Hyde’s qualifications and profession are listed in Irish and English in the 1911 census return, where we learn that he was now a “Teacher in National University of Ireland”.
In 1909 Hyde had become the first professor of Irish at University College Dublin (UCD). He held this post until his retirement in 1932. During his tenure, the Hydes wintered in their Dublin townhouse and only spent the summer at Ratra House, much to Lucy’s delight as she had grown to dislike Roscommon.
As well as his LLD, two other qualifications are listed on the 1911 census return: BA and DLitt. The DLitt was an honorary degree awarded to Hyde by the Royal University of Ireland (his former place of employment) in 1906.
There are some discrepancies between the 1901 and 1911 census returns. Hyde and his wife age 11 years in the 10-year interval. Hyde is listed as 51 in the 1911 census which is correct as he was born on 17 January 1860. Although we are told in the 1901 census that both daughters were born in Ratra, Co. Roscommon, the 1911 census lists Úna’s birthplace as Dublin. A quick search of the civil registration records reveals that she was indeed born in Stillorgan, in Dublin, on 19 June 1896. Such errors are very common in the census and these serve as good examples of why it is important to always take the details in the census records with a pinch of salt and to pursue original birth, baptismal and marriage records where possible.
In contrast to the 1901 census, the 1911 household return reflects the future president’s lifelong devotion to the Irish language and his rebirth as Dubhglas de hÍde. A leading figure in the Gaelic revival, his central mission was to save the Irish language and to de-anglicize Ireland. Likewise, the differences between the two census returns, a decade apart, show a desire to bolster his family’s national identity.
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More on Douglas Hyde …
For more on Douglas Hyde, see his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography. For a very comprehensive account of the life and times of Douglas Hyde we recommend Douglas Hyde: A maker of modern Ireland by Janet Egleson Dunleavy and Gareth W. Dunleavy, published in 1991 by University of California Press and now available to purchase on Aamzon.
How to find your ancestors in the census
There are few surviving census remains before 1901 and there are no censuses currently available for consultation after 1911. The transcriptions of the 1901 and 1911 census returns can be searched for free and originals downloaded for free on the National Archives Census website. It is possible to search by name (“Search Census”) or by location (“Browse”).
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