A new post from the VOICES Project highlights the release of the 1926 census and draws striking connections to an earlier, lesser-known record of women’s lives in 17th-century Ireland.
Conducted shortly after the Easter Rising and the Irish War of Independence, the 1926 census marked the first national survey of the newly formed Irish Free State. Now, a century later, the National Archives of Ireland has made the records publicly available, offering detailed insights into more than 700,000 households. The data includes age, religion, occupation, marital status, and Irish language ability, opening the door to fresh analysis of daily life in the early years of independence.
The VOICES blog places this milestone in a longer historical context by revisiting the 1650 census, compiled in the aftermath of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Although only fragments survive, covering the baronies of Newcastle and Uppercross in County Dublin, the record captures 2,327 individuals across 43 locations, including 1,201 women.
Read the full blog here.
