Ireland Census, 1901 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection consists of the 1901 enumeration of population of Ireland. The 1901 and the 1911 Censuses are the only surviving censuses for Ireland. They were released for public inquiry in 1961.

Record Content
Census records may contain any of the following:


 * Name
 * Relationship
 * Religion
 * If able to read and write
 * Age
 * Sex
 * Occupation
 * Marital Status
 * Birth place
 * Language spoken
 * If blind, deaf, or dumb

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know:


 * Name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as age or names of other family members

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the "County" ⇒ Select the "Parish" ⇒ Select the "Image NBR" which takes you to the images

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor in the census, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:


 * Use the age listed to determine an approximate birth date. This date along with the place of birth can help you find a birth record. Birth records often list biographical and marital details about the parents and close relatives other than the immediate family.
 * Birth places can tell you former residences and can help to establish a migration pattern for the family.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.
 * It is often helpful to extract the information on all families with the same surname in the same general area. If the surname is uncommon, it is likely that those living in the same area were related.
 * Be sure to extract all families before you look at other records. The relationships given will help you to organize family groups. The family groupings will help you identify related families when you discover additional information in other records.
 * Married family members may have lived nearby but in a separate household so you may want to search an entire town, neighboring towns, or even a county.
 * You may be able to identify an earlier generation if elderly parents were living with or close by a married child.
 * You may be able to identify a younger generation if a young married couple still lived with one of their sets of parents.
 * Additional searches may be needed to locate all members of a particular family in the census.
 * You may have to read around marks made by the clerks who compiled the census data. These marks sometimes obscure the information.
 * Accept the ages with caution.
 * Given names may not be the same as a name recorded in church or vital records.
 * The information may be incorrect.
 * Names may be spelled phonetically (or as they sounded to the census taker).
 * Place-names may be misspelled.
 * Individuals missing from a family may be listed elsewhere in the census.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank or status within the community.
 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Make sure you are searching in the right parish.
 * Search the surrounding area.

Related Websites

 * National Archives of Ireland
 * Ireland Census Index
 * About the 1901 Census
 * History of the 1901/1911 Census

Related Wiki Articles

 * Ireland Census
 * Ireland Maps
 * Ireland History
 * Ireland

Citation for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Image Citation: