1821 Ireland census

1821 Ireland Census held on 28 May 1821

The 1821 Ireland census shared its census day with the 1821 census of Great Britain but differed in many other respects from its British counterpart. Most significantly, the 1821 Ireland census collected the personal details of all Irish residents whilst the 1821 census of Great Britain was little more than a head count. In addition, the Ireland census asked for property ownership details.

What has survived?

Very few 1821 Ireland census records have survived; most were destroyed in 1922 during the Irish Troubles following an explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin. However, those fragments that have survived are hugely valuable for a number of reasons that we will discuss further in this article.

There are surviving fragments of 1821 Ireland census records for the following counties:

• Cavan
• Fermanagh
• Galway
• Offaly (formerly known as King’s County)
• Meath

The observations can throw up intriguing nuggets of information. For example, Michael Naughtin, from Brackloon in Galway, is described as a labourer with ½ an acre of land. The observations read ‘There is a burial ground for children on this townland’.

Background

Ireland became part of the UK in 1801, the same year in which the first census of Great Britain was held. However, the 1821 Ireland census was the first successful all Ireland census.

There had been earlier attempts at conducting an Ireland census including the incomplete 1813 census of Ireland which tried to mimic the 1811 census of Great Britain. The 1813 Census was finally abandoned in 1815 and, that same year, the Census (Ireland) Act was passed setting out the framework for what became the 1821 Census of Ireland.

New administration

The Preliminary Report to the 1821 Census identified two weaknesses that had contributed to the failure of the 1813 census. Firstly, the Grand Juries had been responsible for supervising the 1813 census. They met rarely and for short periods. As a result, they had failed to supervise the census adequately.

Secondly, the enumerators had been inferior to their counterparts in the rest of the UK. This was put down to regional differences; in England, Overseers of the Poor principally acted as enumerators and, in Scotland, parish schoolmasters. However, in Ireland there were no Poor Laws and few parish schoolmasters. 

To address these weaknesses, the Census (Ireland) Act transferred control of the census to the Bench of Magistrates, assisted by Assistant Barristers. This ensured ‘permanence and uniformity’ and introduced an element of legal expertise.

In addition, the Census (Ireland) Act stated that enumerators should be recruited from existing local tax collectors, church-wardens, constables, and other peace officers who possessed the necessary local knowledge. In practice, the 1821 census of Ireland recruited enumerators mainly from an existing cohort of tax collectors.

The enumerators

The enumerators visited each house in their designated area ‘day to day, without interruption’ until every resident had been recorded in special ruled note books. The details were then copied into pre-printed forms that were certified by the Bench of Magistrates and forwarded to the Chief Secretary’s Office.

Occupation

The preliminary report noted that the occupations of most people fell into three categories; farmers, labourers and servants. However, it acknowledged that these categories were not always clearly defined. For example, hired labourers often owned a small amount of land, and it was not easy to distinguish between a day-labourer and a field-servant. To clarify matters, the census asked for the number of acres owned by each landowner so that the line of distinction between farmer and other occupations could be drawn.

Hostility

The census authorities, mindful of local suspicion, instructed enumerators to ‘execute their duty in the mildest and most inoffensive manner…never having recourse to the law, except in the most urgent necessity.’ However, there was hostility in certain areas and a not unreasonable fear that the census would be used for tax and conscription purposes. To counter any resistance, letters were sent to clergy of all denominations asking for their support.

Population

The population was put at 6,801,827, although this is generally considered to be on the low side due to the various suspicions mentioned above.

Sources

Census of Ireland 1821. Abstract of the Answers and Returns made pursuant to an Act of the United Parliament, passed in the 55^th year of the reign of his late majesty George III, intituled “An Act to provide for the taking an Account of the Population of Ireland, and for ascertaining the Increase or Diminution thereof”. Preliminary Observations. Enumeration Abstract. Appendix (London, 1823)

Census (Ireland) Act, 1815 (55 Geo. III. c.120)

Larcom, Captain, ‘Observations on the census of the population of Ireland in 1841’, Journal of the Statistical Society of London, Vol.6 No. 4 (1843), 327.