1926 Census of the Irish Free State

[Jon_ni]

10 days after release:
1926 Census of the Irish Free State streamed by The National Archives (England)
Online event Tuesday, Apr 28, 2026 at 7:30 pm GMT+1 live-streamed on Vimeo
https://nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/events/1926
This presentation will guide users through key search tools, browsing options, and the custom map and dashboard features, while outlining the census’s distinctive elements, bilingual forms, redesigned household questions and a universal Form A covering families, institutions and military populations. It will also highlight rich data on language, occupation, employer and agricultural acreage,

fairly hefty ledgers when see being carried around
https://facebook.com/reel/1039380829255555

[Jon_ni]

For ease here and elsewhere the Link to Record can be shortened from that captured to clipboard from your search inputs, after the # seem to just need the a_id=1234567 eg

https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#surname__icontains=kennedy&first_name__icontains=thomas&county=Monaghan&ded__icontains=Anny&limit=30&a_id=1875327

to
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=1875327

Numbers are sequential for the household ie wife is #a_id=1875328 followed by children etc.

[Kiltaglassan]

A very welcome tip, Jon_ni 

Just tried it myself and it works.

Well done 

https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=1717668

[Jon_ni]

Re Reply 8 John Grenham wait till you see the ___ Wonder if he was referring to the N/A's.

I was looking for someone born 28 Jun 1917 but his age of 8 yrs 9 months is transcribed as N/A, as are 2 others on the form (3 out of the household of 7). There were in his birth Townland.
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=1875772

Husband, aged 1 yet married - as was 38yrs 11 mths, interesting the Head of House & wiife's rows are left blank, perhaps they were visiting relatives in N.I. Head supposedly signed in the bottom signature section but doesn't match 1911/1901. His name appears as Head of Family for Schedule #37 on the Enumerator's B1 Form.
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/census-record/#a_id=1865089

On the previous Kennedy household the Head of House has N/A for his Religious Denomination whilst that is filled in on the form.

NAI say a computer did the transcriptions of the English returns whilst the ones in Irish were manually transcribed, and there is a Phased release, perhaps why the Relationship to Head and Birthplace/County fields are missing.

NAI "Checking of the data is ongoing and regular updates will be made. This may include corrections to names, age, religion, birthplace and relationship to head"
https://nationalarchives.ie/search-the-1926-census-2/phased-release-of-census-1926-information also per FAQ no error reporting facility offered. Documented above errors partly so can come back later and check for transcription index changes, some are to be expected, and at the moment only looking for people I know the whereabouts of from civil records. N/A's for age more problematical than denomination or marital status, coming across more as use.

Searching the 1911/1901 on new site is currently troublesome/failing with a NetworkError (the old fine) and IrishGen has been slow & flaky for searches and opening results I noticed today. Whilst the 1926 is fine these are perhaps side effects of the volume of current traffic.

[Jon_ni]

Tuesday, 21 Apr 2026
Members of the public have been told that they can report any possible transcription issues in relation to the 1926 Census through the 'Contact Us' form on the National Archives website.

In a statement, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport said many had already done so, since the 1926 Census went live.
"We appreciate these notifications, as they are helpful in identifying entries where handwriting, spelling variations, or other factors may have led to uncertainty during transcription," the statement said.
https://rte.ie/news/2026/0421/1569415-census-transcription-issues

NAI have updated their FAQ page:
If you notice a possible transcription error, you can let us know through the Contact Us form on our website. Please select the category “Census 1926 – Transcription” and include the county, DED, townland, and the type of error you believe you’ve found (for example, a misspelt name or an incorrect age). This information helps us review and address issues as efficiently as possible.

Link to Contact us appears at bottom of search page
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census

misspelt name in that the transcription differs from that written on the form, and ages indexed differ from what is written on the 1926 form. Incorrect information written in pen on the 1926 household return will not be amended to match other documents (birth/baptism/marriage etc) or current family spellings of surnames.

[Jon_ni]

1926 Census now available on Ancestry
https://ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63564

See Claire Bradley's review https://cbgenealogy.ie/1926-already-on-ancestry

Note on the TNA presentation 28 April 2026 it was stated that the first NAI database upload with corrections to some errors and adding a few missing Building Returns for areas of Dublin will occur very soon, and be announced. It is a progressive piece of work. Errors reported are being logged into an Excel spreadsheet.

[Jon_ni]

Updates to the 1926 Census database. NAI Facebook post.

"We’ve just rolled out a major update to make the records even more accurate and complete."
What’s new:
• Fixes from internal checks
• Verified transcription updates sent in by the public
• Redactions for people aged 100+ who asked not to have their details shown
• Improved mapping for institutions
• Approximately 1,400 previously missing individuals added to the database

Still in progress: We’re continuing to review public transcription corrections. If you’ve submitted one and don’t see it yet, it’s still in the queue – thanks for your patience.
Revisit the 1926 Census to access the most up-to-date version of the records.
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-1926-census/recent-updates-to-the-1926-census-database

FAQ has also been updated with a comment on missing census returns in Dublin.
Approximately 1,500 individuals are missing from the District Electoral Division of Merchant’s Quay around the area between the Tenters and Dufferin Avenue to the South Circular Road. The National Archives has carried out a number of checks of this area, and surrounding areas, in an attempt to locate the missing household returns, but without success. It is likely these returns do not survive.
https://nationalarchives.ie/search-the-1926-census-2/frequently-asked-questions/

[athacliath62]

Also available on FindMyPast : https://search.findmypast.ie/search-world-records/ireland-census-1926

You can add an additional name to a search to narrow results, e.g. husband, wife or child's first name

[Kiltaglassan]

Also on the UK site:

https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/ireland-census-1926