The 1926 Irish Census has been released. Here’s why it’s so important

NewsWorldEuropeThe 1926 Irish Census has been released. Here’s why it’s so importantNearly three million records are being released for free onlineCiara Breathnach The Conversation Saturday 18 April 2026 10:20 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2960263","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irish-census-1926-link-b2960263.html","title":"The 1926 Irish Census has been released. Here’s why it’s so important"}}CloseRelated: King George V's entry in the 1921 census unveiled 100 years onOn The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Europe","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}One hundred years after it was conducted, the first full census of independent Ireland is being released for free online....