1911 Ireland Census

1911 Ireland Census held on 2 April 1911

The 1911 Ireland Census was the last all-Ireland census; the scheduled 1921 Ireland census did not take place due to the Irish Troubles, culminating in the 1921 partition of Ireland. Post partition Ireland census records are not yet publicly available for privacy reasons.

Since the first Ireland census of 1821, the census of Ireland was subject to separate census legislation from the rest of the UK. This led to significant differences and many of these persisted into the 20th Century; the Ireland census asked more questions than its British counterpart and involved a seemingly endless list of census forms, including the unique house and building census forms.

Census Forms

Some of the Ireland census forms required completion by the householder, others by either the heads of various institutions or the enumerators themselves. These are the main census forms you are likely to encounter during your Ireland family history research.

Householder’s Forms

Every householder needed to complete a ‘Family Return’ (Form A) which asked for the personal details of anyone who stayed overnight on census night or was due home the next morning (unless already recorded).

Most of the 1911 census questions were largely a repeat of the 1901 Ireland census i.e. name, relationship, religion, education (‘read and write’, ‘read only’, ‘cannot read’), age, sex, occupation, marriage status etc., where born, language (‘Irish’, ‘Irish & English’ – otherwise blank), disability.

The questions relating to religion, education, and the Irish language were not asked in other parts of the UK. However, the ‘religion’ question was not compulsory and regional variations of the language question were asked in Wales and Scotland.

Fertility question

There was one significant addition that was introduced in all parts of the UK; the fertility question. This was added to the existing ‘marriage’ question (now called ‘Particulars as to Marriage’) and applied to married women only. It asked for the number of years currently married, the number of children from the marriage, and the number of children still alive.

This question, highly controversial throughout the UK, trod a more well-worn path in Ireland; the duration of marriage had featured in some of the earlier Ireland censuses (although later dropped).

The ‘Return of the Sick’ (Form C) only applied to households where a family member was sick on census night. It was largely a repetition of Form A but also asked for a description of the illness, its duration, and whether the person afflicted was able to carry out his/her usual occupation.

Enumerator’s Forms

The House and Building Returns (Forms B1 and B2) were, essentially, a building survey carried out by the enumerator whilst distributing Form A (i.e. shortly before census day). Form B1, ‘graded’ each property according to its construction (of walls and roof), number of rooms and front windows. It also recorded the number of rooms each family occupied, the size of the family, and the number of family members who were sick. Landowners, if applicable, were also recorded. Form B2 (‘Out-offices and farm-steadings’) asked for details of any out-buildings.

Each householder was identifiable so we can easily learn about their living conditions and relative prosperity. This level of understanding is quite unique in the history of UK censuses.

Institutional Forms

There were a number of institutional returns for workhouses, hospitals, barracks, lunatic asylums and prisons. The forms asked for brief details of each occupant, including full name. Unfortunately, the heads of these institutions, who acted as enumerator, often only entered the initials of each occupant.

There were also a number of census forms for schools, colleges and universities (Forms G, L1, L2, L3 and L4). The principal or head, who were responsible for the completion of these forms, generally recorded the full names of each master or scholar.

Administration

Members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the Dublin Metropolitan Police were, once again, recruited as enumerators; a task they had performed since the Ireland census of 1841. They were responsible for distributing (before census day) census forms to householders and the various institutions, and collecting the completed forms after census day. They also had to complete their own enumerator’s forms which, as mentioned above, involved full building surveys.

Some Members of Parliament argued that it would be more appropriate to employ local government officials for the task (as was the case in the rest of the UK). However, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Augustine Birrel, rejected this proposal and highlighted the efficiency of enumerators in previous Ireland censuses.

Population

The population recorded in the 1911 census of Ireland was 4,390,219 – a decline of less than 70,000 since the the Ireland census of 1901. The dramatic population decline of the 19th Century, which had already begun to slow by 1901, was finally stable.

Sources

Census of England and Wales, 1921, Preliminary report including tables of the population enumerated in England and Wales (administrative and parliamentary areas) and in Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands on 19-20th June 1921 BPP 1921 XVI [Cmd.1485] p.62

Ireland. Census Office. Census of Ireland, 1901. Dublin: Printed for H.M. Stationery Off., by Cahill, 190102.

White, Ian, ONS, A Brief History of the Census, Registrar General Northern Ireland Annual Report 2011, Chapt. 2 Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency. p. 50.