Minister for Culture announces €5m in funding for digitisation of 1926 Census

Five million euro in funding has been secured for the digitisation of the 1926 Census. 

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, yesterday (November 16) announced that data from the 1926 Census - the first census taken following the foundation of the Irish State - will be published online in April 2026. 

Personal information entered on individual census forms can be published 100 years after a census is taken, and work will now commence to preserve, transcribe and digitise the individual census returns. 

Minister Catherine Martin said, "I am pleased to provide funding of €5 million for the digitisation and publication of the 1926 census. It is my firm belief that census records and other genealogical records should be easily accessible and provided free of charge to the public. 

"The €5 million funding will provide for the complex, time consuming and multistage process to digitise all of the information collected by the first census of the Irish State. I am confident that work will be completed in time for release 100 years after the census was taken.

"Given the success of the digitised 1901 and 1911 census returns, I’m sure that the 1926 Census will be equally as popular and have a significant global reach once released. The census is a fundamental part of our national heritage and collective knowledge.” 

The 1926 census collected 21 data sets such as name, age, sex, marital status, religion, housing conditions and ability to speak Irish.  

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the population of Ireland was 2,971,992 on the census night of 18 April 1926, a reduction of 5.3% of the population since the previous census in 1911 (3,139,688 people). 

Dublin was the only county to record an increase in population of almost 6% in the intercensal period, while all other counties recorded a loss. 

Just over 18% of the population could speak Irish in 1926. 

Of those employed, 51% were in agricultural occupations, 4% were fisherman, 14% were in manufacturing and 7% were domestic servants. 

At present, the 1926 census is stored in 1,344 boxes, containing over 700,000 return sheets, each measuring approximately 630mm x 290mm (A3 is 297x430mm). 

Digitisation will be undertaken by the National Archives of Ireland in close cooperation with the Central Statistics Office (CSO).