Ireland, Census, 1901

What is in This Collection?

In this 1901 Irish census, Ireland was not only interested in the people living in their country, but also any visitors. The government also wanted to know what religions they were. In this census, farms and businesses were also detailed.

The 1901 and 1911 Censuses are the only surviving censuses for the country of Ireland after the Irish Civil War bombing on 30 June 1922, when a massive explosion and fire demolished the building and the other records.

Additionally, there are other Irish genealogy records that have survived, such as:

• Civil registrations
• Parish registers
• Baptism, marriage, and burial records for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, and Methodists
• Griffith’s valuations (land records)

Additional records and/or images may be added to this collection in the future.

What Can These Records Tell Me?

On “Form A” of the census is where personal information was captured. Everyone present in the house during the visit was counted. This included residents, visitors, boarders, servants, and anyone else who slept at that house on Sunday, March 31, 1901. Information collected on “Form A” can include:

• First and last name, with occasional middle initial for the head of household
• Relation to head of family
• Religion
• Literacy—whether the person could read and write
• Age at last birthday
• Gender
• Occupation
• Marital status
• Where born—Irish county or city, or another country
• Irish language—whether the person speaks Irish only, or Irish and English
• Handicap—whether the person was blind or had other handicaps

The information captured on “Form B1” counted houses and buildings and the number of people in them. The data can include:

• House/building location: County, District, Parish
• Whether the house/building was a private dwelling, public building, school, manufacturing place, hotel, lodging, or shop
• Number of other buildings on property (detailed in Form B2)
• Whether the house was inhabited
• Building materials used in house/building, including how many windows it had
• Number of families in the house/building
• Name of each head of family in the house/building
• Number of rooms occupied by each family
• Total number of people in each family
• Number of people in the family who were sick
• Landholder’s name

The information captured on “Form B2” counted farms and businesses (not people) and can include:

• Farm location: County, District, Parish
• Number of stables, coach houses, harness rooms, cow houses, calf houses, dairies, piggeries, fowl houses, boiling houses, barns, turn houses, potato houses, workshops, sheds, stores, forges, and laundries

“Form N” was a summary of the total number of people in a given town. The information can include:

• Location: County, District, Parish
• Total number of dwelling houses
• Total number of families and persons in each house
• Total number of Roman Catholics, Protestant Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Independents, Baptists, Quakers, Jews, or other religions in each house