Ireland Census, 1911 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Ireland

What is in This Collection?
This collection includes records from the Ireland 1911 Census, taken on 2 April 1911. The index was created by the National Archives of Ireland.

Ireland is unusual among English-speaking census-taking countries in that our original household manuscript returns survive. These are the forms filled out and signed by the head of each household on census night. Most other countries only have Enumerators' books, where family details were transcribed by the person charged with collecting the census information.

The basic topographical divisions for the census are: County; District Electoral Division; Townland or Street. This is a simple hierarchical structure which makes it easy to access any area in the country. The returns are arranged in clusters by townland/street within district electoral division within county. For each townland/street, there are a number of original household returns, filled in and signed by heads of households, and three statistical returns, dealing with religious denominations, classification of buildings, and out-offices and farm-steadings, filled out by the Enumerator for that townland/street.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
Census records may contain the following Information:


 * Given names of all family members
 * Ages and gender
 * Relationship to the head of the household
 * Marital status
 * Educational or literacy status
 * Occupation of the head of the household
 * County and township of residence
 * Country of birth
 * Religious affiliation

The 1911 census asked a significant additional question: married women were required to state the number of years they had been married, the number of their children born alive and the number still living.

The back of the form, also available on this website, gives the head of household and its address. In some cases, where forms were filled out in Irish, the name of the head of household appears in English on the back of the form. This name has also been indexed, and appears on the list of residents of a household. The back of the form is available to view under Form A, page 2.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the person you are looking for
 * The approximate location of residence

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Use the estimated ages to calculate a birth dates
 * Try to locate the family in earlier census records
 * Based on the age of the oldest child (if applicable) search for a marriage record for the parents

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times
 * Check for variant spellings of the names
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Ireland.
 * Ireland Guided Research
 * Record Finder
 * Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation: "Ireland Census, 1911" Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : publication date. Custodian.

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