1841 Ireland Census

1841 Ireland Census held on 6 June 1841

The whole of Ireland was part of the UK throughout the 19th Century so it is understandable that the 1841 Ireland Census was held at the same time as the 1841 Census of Great Britain, and underwent similar reform.

However, as with all pre-partition Ireland censuses, the 1841 Ireland Census was subject to separate census legislation and was quite independent from the rest of the UK. This independence was used to good effect; the census of Ireland was far more comprehensive than its British counterparts.

What has survived?

Almost all 1821 – 1851 Ireland census records, including those for the 1841 Ireland census, were destroyed by a catastrophic explosion at the Four Courts in Dublin. This loss has been felt even more keenly because this was the last Ireland census before the Potato Famine devastated the country, resulting in an estimated population decline of up to 2 million people.

Fragments survive for the following counties:

• Cavan
• Cork
• Fermanagh
• Waterford

Where the 1841 census records for Ireland do exist, they are generally superior to those for the rest of the UK reflecting a desire to throw some light on the condition of the people^[1]. The Ireland census collected more information (e.g. marital status, relationship with householder, education) and included individuals who were absent on census night, or who had died. Uniquely, the Ireland census included a house survey.

The Householder’s Form (Form A)

Details	Overnight	Absent	Died
Name	✓	✓	✓
Age	✓	✓	✓
Male or Female	✓	✓	✓
Relation to head of the family	✓	✓	✓
Marital status & year(s) of marriage	✓	X	X
Occupation	✓	✓	✓
If a child, whether attending school (part of occupation question).	✓	✓	X
Education - whether he/she can 'read', 'read and write' or 'cannot read'	✓	X	X
Native of country, county, city	✓	X	X
Where residing (absent family members)	X	✓	X
Disease which caused death	X	X	✓
Year of death	X	X	✓
Farmers: number of employees (M/F) employed daily & their wages.

The 1841 Census of Ireland introduced a Family Return (Form A) which every householder was required to complete. This form comprised three tables into which three groups of individuals were entered. Table 1: anyone who slept overnight on 6 June; Table 2: absent family members; Table 3: anyone who had died whilst living in the house since the last census. The census form assured the householder that the aim was to collect the information ‘in the least intrusive manner’ but there was a hefty £10 penalty for failure to answer the census questions (or give false answer).

Form A was the only census form in the UK to ask for the personal details of those who were absent or who had died. The inclusion of absent family members was due to the large movement of people, particularly in June when agricultural work was at its height. Those who had died since the previous census were included because there was no Registry of Deaths.

In another departure from the rest of the UK, Form A was not destroyed by the census authorities once the census information had been copied out. This means that, where these forms have survived, 1841 Ireland census records are generally in the householder’s own handwriting; the original householder’s census forms were not retained in the rest of the UK until the 20th Century.

Enumerators (census takers) were responsible for distributing the census forms in the days before census day, and then collecting them as soon as possible after census day.

Form B – the House survey

Another unique feature of the 1841 Ireland census was the introduction of a separate House Survey (Form B) which was completed by the enumerator whilst distributing the Form A. The following information was recorded:

• Description of each building; type of building (e.g. private dwelling) whether inhabited, construction of building and roof, number of storeys/rooms/front windows.
• Number of families per house.
• Name of the head of each family – this is very important because it means that Form B can be matched up with Form A.
• Farms only: number of acres and number of different categories of livestock.

As can be seen, Form B gives a fascinating description of our Irish ancestors’ living conditions and level of prosperity (or, more realistically, poverty).

New administration

The enumerators were recruited mainly from the constabulary and the police (previously they had been drawn from tax collectors), and were assigned an enumeration district (administrative areas based on townlands).

The whole process was controlled by a small group of Census Commissioners who reported to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Each commissioner brought a particular area of expertise to the role. Census Commissioner Henry J Brownrigg, as Inspector General of the Constabulary, was perfectly qualified to recruit and organise the enumerators.

1841 Census Substitute

In 1909, Ireland census records for 1841 (and 1851 Ireland census records) were used as proof of age for the newly introduced Old Age Pension. This process produced a new source of records known as census search forms. Owing to the destruction of most 1841 Ireland census records, these census search forms serve as invaluable census substitutes. These records can be accessed today via Findmypast and the National Archives of Ireland.

Population

The population was put at 8,175,124^[2]. Although this did not appear to be much of a population increase from the 1831 Ireland census figure of 7,767,401, it is generally believed that enumerators had inflated the 1831 Ireland population numbers, believing that they would be paid per capita.

^[1]T. Larcom, Observations on the census of the population of Ireland, Journal of the Statistical Society of London, vol. 6 (1843), p. 323.

[2]ibid, p. 327.