CIGO asks you to support the early release of the 1926 census for the Republic of Ireland
Irish genealogical organisations are urging the government to make the 1926 census returns available to the public.
The 1926 census was compiled eighty-two years ago. Normally such records would not be made public until one hundred years after they were created, unlike the United States where the tariff is just seventy years.
However, the 1911 census for Ireland was made available in 1961, after only fifty years. The accepted reason for this is that so many of Ireland’s early census returns had been destroyed: those of 1821 – 1851 were destroyed in the 1922 Public Record office fire, while the 1861 – 1891 census returns had already been destroyed by government order. As a result, there was a huge gap in the census returns for Ireland, which was somewhat mitigated by the release of the 1911 census.
The Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO) has recently set up a petition for the early release of the 1926 census returns. CIGO suggests that if the 1926 census were made available, further information on individuals who were born prior to civil registration (which commenced in 1864) could be gleaned. They argue that few people mentioned in this census are still living, and that the information held in the census is already available elsewhere, so cannot be deemed ‘sensitive.’ CIGO also intimate that the Genealogical Society of Ireland will propose a bill for the early release of the 1921 census returns.
On CIGO’s website they ask ‘all those with an interest in Irish genealogy to support [us] and GSI in any way they can. Everyone who is interested in this issue can help the success of the campaign by signing CIGO’s petition which is to be presented to Brian Cowen TD, the Taoiseach [Prime Minister] of Ireland.’
Add your name to the petition for the early release of the 1926 census for the Republic of Ireland.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
I have been actively compiling my Family tree for many years now.The release of the 1926 information would answer some very important questions for me and fill in many gaps particularly about the older generations, e.g. I cannot find a death cert for my great grand mother but some say she died in 1925. The 1926 census would prove this for me and i could then widen my search of the 1925 death certs etc.