If you've tried to do any Irish genealogical research, you've no doubt heard that almost
any record you'd want "was destroyed in the war." All but some isolated fragments
of the early census records were destroyed in the bombing of the Public Records Office in
Dublin in 1922 during the Irish Civil War, as were many other 19th and early 20th century
records. But the 1901 and 1911 censuses survived, and
the National Archives of Ireland has done a WONDERFUL job of putting the census online.
The site has a searchable index for individuals, which lists surname and first name, age, gender, townland or street, district electoral division, and county. These link to a page with a transcription of the information for all the persons in the household, with links to a .pdf image of the actual return, and images of related census forms-- for example, one will tell you the number of rooms occupied, the number of windows, type of roof, and general condition of the family's home.
Even if you're like me, with Irish ancestors that left the auld sod long before the 20th century, you'll probably still find the census quite interesting. Check out the Irish census today!
There are also some census substitutes - check out the 1664 Armagh householders list, the 1766 Tyrone religious census, and the 1796 flax growers list.
Copyright © 2010 Larry Slavens. All rights reserved.