Come To Your Census: The Podcast

What's This Podcast
About?

In April 1926, a few short years after the foundation of the Irish Free State, a census was taken to count and record people resident here. Nearly three million people were recorded in that census, every household return capturing the fabric of everyday life: names and families, occupations and languages, faith, birthplace. The details that shaped communities across the country. A century later, the release of the 1926 Census of Population into the public domain offers a rare and intimate glimpse into a pivotal moment in Ireland’s history as the foundations of a new state. To mark this historic release, the National Archives of Ireland have partnered with RTÉ to produce a two-part landmark documentary series, Come to your Census and an accompanying six-part podcast series. In this podcast series, historian Liz Gillis is joined by archivists and fellow historians – all of whom were granted early access to the records before they were issued to the public – Liz unpacks some of the key themes that emerge from the pages of the 1926 census. Over six episodes, the series reveals the stories, communities and social changes that shaped Ireland during the early years of the Free State.