Free 1901 and 1911 Census for Ireland



The official household census for Ireland covered all 32 counties for the years 1901 and 1911. It is provided free by the National Archives of Ireland. Click on the top tab ‘Census’ to begin a search.

You can choose from searching the 1901 (done on March 31st) or the 1911 (done April 2nd) and then switch to the other. There are several places to place information such as a surname, given (foreman) name, approximate age, and county the person may have lived in that census year.

A list will appear of those names matching your selections. The transcribed listing of all in the household, the full address, ages, relationship to the head of the house, and their religion will be shown. To view a scanned copy of the actual completed census form click on ‘Household Return (Form A)’. This will also show their birth places, occupations and have the signature of the head of the house.

Once you have information on all ancestors, especially from one household, do the search in the 1911 census. Just scroll down that same page to place your names in the 1911 census search. This way you can compare the locations, ages, occupations and who was still in the household.

One thing to be cautious of is that you might not find certain family members right away in 1911. Various reasons could be those who married and moved away, those that died, and even those used a different given name in the 1911 census. So always try variations of names and the ages which can be off a couple of years.

Look over the section titled “Ireland in the Early 20th Century” where there is information and photos relating to the people, economy and times in Belfast, Dublin, Kerry, Galway, Cork and Waterford, Ireland.

This is an excellent source to learn more about your Irish ancestors in 1901 to 1911.

Photo:  Maypole dance in Waterford, Ireland on April 27, 1909.

< Return To Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.