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Census of Ireland, Dublin 1911.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
1911 Census returns for Dublin available to view online in their original format.
What is the site about?
The 2nd April 1911 was Census Night on the island of Ireland. The original forms filled out and signed by the head of each household on that night are now available online.
At this stage, the records for Dublin are available, with Future Plans to add the records for the other 31 counties.
The site includes articles on a variety of Themes, including Transport, Religion and Education as well as a Photo Gallery for many of the Themes.
Why was it chosen as site of the week?
It was chosen because:
- Students and children of all ages will find the site very interesting and easy to engage with.
- It provides a fascinating snap-shot of Dublin at one particular point in time.
- It offers history students the opportunity to investigate genuine Primary Source material.
How can it be used as an educational resource?
The census will be useful for history classes in both Primary and Secondary schools. There are numerous Themes explored, in articles commissioned specially for the digitisation of the Census. Secondary school students will find these very useful, while Primary students may find the Photo Gallery more engaging.
The Home Page highlights the historical figures who feature in the census - Padraig Pearse, James Connolly and Oliver St. John Gogarty.
Some preparatory work will greatly enhance the learning experience for students using the site. Contextualising the information available will be important - many people could not read or write and "servant" was a common occupation. It was also normal for large numbers to live in very few rooms. Students should be made aware of these social issues before they search the census for particular individuals.
Initially, students will be interested in looking up their own relatives. A simple "family tree" could give students a variety of ancestors to search for. Students from Dublin should ask their parents and grandparents for the names and approximate ages of family members in 1911. Students from outside Dublin might like to focus on relatives who lived and worked in Dublin at the time - "Where Born" is one of the headings on Form A. As this field can not be searched for, it is important to have a first name and surname, or it will be difficult to identify any particular individual.
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