Census of Ireland, 1911

The Census of Ireland, 1911, was a census that covered Ireland, and was conducted on Sunday 2 April 1911 as part of a broader Census of the United Kingdom. A census of Ireland had taken place every ten years beginning in 1821 until 1911. The next census would not take place until 1926 due to the Irish War of Independence and subsequent Irish Civil War. The entire returns for all 32 counties are available online on the website of the National Archives of Ireland.

Information collected

The census information was recorded on the following forms:

Form A, which was completed by the head of family
Forms B1, B2, and N, which were completed by the census enumerator

Head of family

Form A, completed by the head of family, contained the following information for each person in the home on the night of 2 April:

Census of Ireland, 1911: Form A

Name and Surname
Relation to Head of Family
Religious Profession (Protestants were requested to indicate denomination)
Education (whether able to read and write)
Age (last birthday) and Sex
Rank, Profession, or Occupation
Particulars as to Marriage (marital status, length of marriage, number of children born alive, number of children still living)
Where Born
Irish Language (whether able to speak Irish)
If Deaf and Dumb, Dumb only, Blind, Imbecile or Idiot, or Lunatic

The form was signed by both the census enumerator and the head of family.

Census enumerator

Form B1, the House and Building Return, was completed by the enumerator and summarised the following administrative information for the street or townland, or part thereof:

It then summarised the following information pertaining to the houses and families of the street or townland. The information about houses included:

Number of House or Building
Whether Built or Building
Whether Private Dwelling, Public Building, School, Manufactory, Hotel, Public-house, Lodging-house, Shop, etc.
Number of Out-Offices and Farm-steadings as returned on Form B2
Whether House Inhabited
Walls (whether made of permanent or perishable material)
Roof (whether made of permanent or perishable material)
Rooms (number, whether 1, 2–4, 5–6, 7–9, 10–12, 13+)
Windows in Front (exact number)
Class of House (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, based on information supplied above)

The information about families included:

Number of distinct Families in each House
Name of the Head of each Family residing in the House
Number of Rooms occupied by each Family
Total Number of Persons in each Family
Date on which Form A was collected
Number of Persons in each Family who were sick on 2 April 1911
Name of the Landholder (if any) on whose Holding the House is situated
Number on Form M1 if House is on the Holding of a Landholder

Form B2, the Return of Outhouses and Farm-Steadings, gave more detailed information on secondary buildings attached to a property, such as outhouses, workshops, and various kinds of farm buildings.

Form N, the Enumerator's Abstract for a Townland or Street, recorded the enumerator's name, the same administrative information as listed for Form B1, the properties and which were inhabited, and the numbers of families, males, and females, and persons of each religious denomination.

Population

Total

The total population of Ireland according to the 1911 census was 4,390,219 of whom 2,192,048 were male and 2,198,171 were female.

By province

Province	Population
Leinster	1,162,044
Munster	1,035,495
Connacht	610,984
Ulster	1,581,696

By county

Province	County	Population
Leinster	Carlow	36,252
	Dublin	477,196
	Kildare	66,627
	Kilkenny	74,962
	Queen's Co. (now Laois)	54,629
	Longford	43,820
	Louth	63,665
	Meath	65,091
	King's Co. (now Offaly)	56,832
	Westmeath	59,986
	Wexford	102,273
	Wicklow	60,711
Munster	Clare	104,232
	Cork	392,104
	Kerry	159,691
	Limerick	143,069
	Tipperary	152,433
	Waterford	83,966
Connacht	Galway	182,224
	Leitrim	63,582
	Mayo	192,177
	Roscommon	93,956
	Sligo	79,045
Ulster
	Cavan	91,173
	Donegal	168,537
	Monaghan	71,455
	Antrim (incl. Belfast)	580,811
	Armagh	120,291
	Down	204,303
	Fermanagh	61,836
	Londonderry	140,625
	Tyrone	142,665

Cities

City	Population
Belfast	386,947
Dublin	304,802
Cork	76,673
Derry	40,780
Limerick	38,518
Waterford	27,464

Religion

According to the 1911 census, religious profession broke down as follows:

Religious profession	Number	Percentage
Roman Catholic	3,238,656	73.8%
Church of Ireland	575,489	13.1%
Presbyterian	439,876	10.0%
Methodist	61,806	1.4%
Other Christian denominations	57,718	1.3%
Jewish	5,101	0.1%

Viewing the returns

The census returns of 1911 for all 32 counties are available online. The website is freely accessible, with no charge for viewing any of the material.

The original manuscripts of the Census of Ireland are all housed in the National Archives of Ireland. The returns are arranged by townland for rural areas and by street in cities, and it is necessary to know the townland or street where a person lived and its corresponding District Electoral Division to find the record of a particular person of interest.

The Family History Library also holds microfilm copies of the original 1911 census returns and these can be viewed at the Library in Salt Lake City, Utah or ordered for viewing at a Family History Center, a local branch of the Family History Library.

A list of Royal Irish Constabulary police barracks, for which the Form H Barrack Returns can be identified, is available at the free to use Royal Irish Constabulary Research Forum.

References

External links

Census in the United Kingdom

Censuses

Published	1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 Ireland 1939

Unpublished	1921 1931 1951 1961 1966 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011

Future	2021

Census Acts