The 1911 Census of Ireland was the last census that covered the whole island of Ireland. Censuses were taken at ten-year intervals from 1821 onwards, but the 1921 census was cancelled due to the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. The original records of the 1821 to 1851 censuses were destroyed by fire at the

Four Courts The Four Courts ( ga, Na Ceithre Cúirteanna) is Ireland's most prominent courts building, located on Inns Quay in Dublin. The Four Courts is the principal seat of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Dublin Circuit ...

in Dublin during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, while those between 1861 and 1891 were possibly pulped during the First World War. All that remained were the 1901 and 1911 census, with the latter put online in 2009 by the

National Archives of Ireland The National Archives of Ireland ( ga, Cartlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the official repository for the state records of Ireland. Established by the National Archives Act 1986, taking over the functions of the State Paper Office (founded 17 ...

Information collected

The census information was recorded on the following forms: *Form A, which was completed by the head of the family *Forms B1, B2, and N, which were completed by the census enumerator

Head of the family

Form A, which was completed by the head of the family, contained the following information for each person in the home on the night of 2 April: *Name and Surname *Relation to Head of Family *Religious Profession (''

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

were requested to indicate denomination'') *Education (''whether able to read and write'') *Age (last birthday) and Sex *Rank, Profession, or Occupation *Particulars as to Marriage (''marital status, length of marriage, number of children born alive, number of children still living'') *Where Born *

Irish Language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

(''whether able to speak Irish'') *Disability: if persons were: **

Deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

and Dumb ** Dumb only ** Blind **

Imbecile The term ''imbecile'' was once used by psychiatrists to denote a category of people with moderate to severe intellectual disability, as well as a type of criminal.Fernald, Walter E. (1912). ''The imbecile with criminal instincts.'' Fourth editi ...

Idiot An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

(i.e.

intellectually disabled Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...

) **

Lunatic Lunatic is an antiquated term referring to a person who is seen as mentally ill, dangerous, foolish, or crazy—conditions once attributed to "lunacy". The word derives from ''lunaticus'' meaning "of the moon" or "moonstruck". History The te ...

(i.e. severely

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

) The form was signed by both the census enumerator and the head of the family.

Census enumerator

Form B1, which was known as the House and Building Return, was completed by the enumerator and summarised the following administrative information for the street or townland, or part thereof: *

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

* Parliamentary Division * Poor Law Union *

District electoral division An electoral division (ED, ) is a legally defined administrative area in the Republic of Ireland, generally comprising multiple townlands, and formerly a subdivision of urban and rural districts. Until 1996, EDs were known as district electora ...

Townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

* Parliamentary borough *City *

Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

*Town or Village *Street *

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

It then summarised the following information pertaining to the houses and families of the street or townland. The information about houses included: *Number of House or Building *Whether Built or Building *Whether Private Dwelling, Public Building, School, Manufactory, Hotel,

Public-house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, Lodging-house, Shop, etc. *Number of Out-Offices and Farm-steadings as returned on Form B2 *Whether House Inhabited *Walls (''whether made of permanent or perishable material'') *Roof (''whether made of permanent or perishable material'') *Rooms (''number, whether 1, 2–4, 5–6, 7–9, 10–12, 13+'') *Windows in Front (''exact number'') *Class of House (''1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, based on information supplied above'') The information about families included: *Number of distinct Families in each House *Name of the Head of each Family residing in the House *Number of Rooms occupied by each Family *Total Number of Persons in each Family *Date on which Form A was collected *Number of Persons in each Family who were sick on 2 April 1911 *Name of the ''Landholder'' (if any) on whose Holding the House is situated *Number on Form M1 if House is on the Holding of a Landholder Form B2, the Return of Outhouses and Farm-Steadings, gave more detailed information on secondary buildings attached to a property, such as outhouses, workshops, and various kinds of farm buildings. Form N, the Enumerator's Abstract for a Townland or Street, recorded the enumerator's name, the same administrative information as listed for Form B1, the properties and which were inhabited, and the numbers of families, males, and females, and persons of each religious denomination.

Population

Total

The total population of Ireland according to the 1911 census was 4,390,219 of whom 2,192,048 were male and 2,198,171 were female.

By province

By county

*Note: ''The County Borough of Belfast, established in 1888, straddled the border between Down and Antrim. The River Lagan was the traditional boundary of the two counties. The borough of Belfast had 15 wards, three of which - Ormeau, Pottinger and Victoria - were south of the Lagan and have been included as part of County Down's population. The remainder have been added to County Antrim's population.''

Cities

Religion

According to the 1911 census, religious profession broke down as follows:

Viewing the returns

The census returns of 1911 for all 32 counties ar
available online
The website is freely accessible, with no charge for viewing any of the material. The original manuscripts of the Census of Ireland are all housed in the

. The returns are arranged by townland for rural areas and by street in cities, and it is necessary to know the townland or street where a person lived and its corresponding

district electoral division An electoral division (ED, ) is a legally defined administrative area in the Republic of Ireland, generally comprising multiple townlands, and formerly a subdivision of urban and rural districts. Until 1996, EDs were known as district electora ...

to find the record of a particular person of interest. The

Family History Library The Family History Library (FHL) is a genealogical research facility in downtown Salt Lake City. The library is open to the public free of charge and is operated by FamilySearch, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

also holds microfilm copies of the original 1911 census returns and these can be viewed at the Library in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, Utah. A list of Royal Irish Constabulary police barracks, for which the Form H Barrack Returns can be identified, is available at the free to us
Royal Irish Constabulary Research Forum

References

External links

Household returns for 1901/1911, National Archives of IrelandStatistical returns for the Province of UlsterStatistical returns for the Province of MunsterStatistical returns for the Province of LeinsterStatistical returns for the Province of Connaught
{{Census in the United Kingdom Demographics of Ireland Geographic history of Ireland 1911 in Ireland 1911

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...