The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census

Orlaith McBride

The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census

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On 18 April 1926 the first census of an independent Irish state was undertaken. Across the 26 counties over 700,000 census forms were completed by, or on behalf of, the 2,971,992 people living in the Irish Free State. But what can we know of the lives that they led?

A century later, with the release of the 1926 census by the National Archives on 18 April 2026, those forms come alive again – revealing a nation in transition and a people forging their identity in the early decades of independence. The Story of Us brings together a wide range of scholars to illuminate the individuals and communities hidden within the census returns. From island settlements to expanding cities, from rural farms and urban tenements to the mansions of the aristocracy, the book traces a vibrant cross-section of society. Lavishly illustrated, it explores themes ranging from entertainment and the arts to housing, infrastructure, family
life, and social change.

The Story of Us offers not only a compelling portrait of 1926 Ireland but a deeper understanding of the world in which these lives unfolded.

Contents
1: Days in the life: the weekend of the census – Gregory Walls
2: Passion and patriotism: recreation in independent Ireland – Paul Rouse
3: Ireland at a crossroads: Seumas O’Sullivan and The Dublin Magazine – Frank Shovlin
4: Dogged adaptation: Irish architecture in April 1926 – Ellen Rowley
5: The Irish diaspora in the United States – Mike Cronin
6: The Irish diaspora in Britain – Mo Moulton
7: Creating and analysing the 1926 census – Gregory Walls
8: Names and ages, families and places – Gregory Walls
9: Everyday life: Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare, April 1926 – Anne Dolan
10: The revolutionary generation in the 1926 census – John Gibney and Gregory Walls
11: The 1926 census and the impact of war and revolution – Marie Coleman
12 : From workhouse to county home: St Phelim’s Hospital, Cavan, in 1926 – Georgina Laragy
13: Migration and the 1926 census – Miriam Nyhan Grey
14: Inward migration in the 1926 census – John Gibney
15: Emigration, return, friendship and war: Headford, Co. Galway – Kate O’Malley
16: The children of Dogfish Lane, Galway city – Sarah-Anne Buckley
17: An island family: Gola, Co. Donegal, 1926 – Orlaith McBride
18: Gaeltacht ar fán: Doire Fhinín i 1926/Barely alive: a ghost Gaeltacht in Muskerry in 1926 – Cormac Ó Gráda
19: Language, politics and religion: Identities in the 1926 Census – Gregory Walls
20: Daonáireamh 1926 agus an Ghaeilge/The 1926 Census and the Irish language – Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh
21: Minority population decline in the south of Ireland between 1911 and 1926 – Andy Bielenberg
22: Gender, dependence and the family economy in the 1926 census: Featherbed Lane, Cork city – Lindsey Earner-Byrne 23: The Anglo-Irish aristocracy in the 1926 census – Terence Dooley
24: Livelihoods and living conditions – Gregory Walls
25: Housing in Ireland, 1926– Ruth McManus
26: 16 Digges Street Upper, Dublin city – Padraig Yeates
27: 34 Marlborough Street, Dublin city – Ida Milne
28: Industrial heritage in the 1926 census – Rob Goodbody
29: Releasing the 1926 census – Jessica Baldwin, Gerard Byrne, Niamh McDonnell, Dáire Rooney

About the Editors
Orlaith McBride has been Director of the National Archives/An Chartlann Náisiúnta since April 2020. She previously served as Director of the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon, where she led major national initiatives including the 2016 commemorations programme. Earlier in her career, she worked widely across the arts sector. She has served on Dublin City University’s Governing Authority and is a member of the Brian Friel Trust.

John Gibney is Assistant Editor with the Royal Irish Academy’s Documents on Irish Foreign Policy programme. He has written widely on Irish history and historiography. His books include A short history of Ireland (Yale University Press), and he was one of the co-curators of the major international exhibitions presented by the National Archives in partnership with the RIA to mark the centenaries of both the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 and Irish membership of the League of Nations in 1923.