1926 Census exhibition to visit Mullingar this autumn

To celebrate the release of the 1926 Census, Westmeath County Council will host a landmark exhibition curated by the National Archives, entitled ‘The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census’.

Having already toured local authorities across the country this year, this exhibition will visit Mullingar between 25 August and 4 September. The public will have the chance to view it for free in the Atrium at Westmeath County Buildings, Mullingar on weekdays, 10am-4pm, and until 8pm on Thursday 27 August, Tuesday 1 and Thursday 3 September.

The exhibition in Mullingar will be officially launched by Cllr Bill Collentine, An Cathaoirleach Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí, at a public event in the Atrium on Tuesday 25t August. Guest speakers at the event will be Orlaith McBride, director of the National Archives, and Dr John Gibney, historian. It is a free public event at 6pm, and all are welcome to a end.

‘The Story of Us’ exhibition uses contemporary documents and photographs, audio-visual displays and reproductions of census returns, to transport visitors back to the Ireland of 100 years ago.

Viewers will be encouraged to contemplate the realities of life for their forebearers, who were emerging from a decade-long period of strife into the newly independent Irish Free State.

They will get a glimpse of what life was like in 1926, in towns and cities, across rural communities and islands. The exhibition will add context to census data on employment, religion, gender, language, culture, sport and entertainment.

Viewers will read and hear stories about wealth and impoverishment, crowded tenements and cottages, and social mobility in the comfortable townhouses and farmhouses of the emerging catholic middle classes and the mansions of the ailing gentry.

The online publication of the first Census of the Irish Free State by the National Archives was the cumulation of a three-year conservation and digitisation project. It involved the careful preservation of original paper returns, high-resolution scanning and the capture of handwritten information from more than 700,000 individual household returns.

Speaking at the official launch of Census 1926 at Dublin Castle on 18 April this year, Ms McBride from the National Archives stated: “As we open these census records to the public, we honour those who came before us, their resilience, their ambition, and their contribution to the Ireland we know today.

“But perhaps most importantly, today reminds us that the history of Ireland is not only found in great events or political milestones – it is found in the lived experiences of its people.

“Every entry in this census represents an individual life, a family unit, a shared human story that together forms the fabric of our na on.”

Commenting on the exhibition, newly appointed Westmeath county archivist, Martin Fagan said: “The release of the 1926 Census in April resulted in a resurgence of interest in genealogy in the summer, as family researchers poured over the new information about their ancestors and communities.

“This expertly put together exhibition, will help put this new information into context, by illustrating what life was like in Ireland in April 1926.

“Westmeath County Council are delighted to be partnering with the National Archives to bring this exhibition to the county, and we encourage the public to view it during its two-week stay in Mullingar.”

A companion book, The Story Of Us – Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census, edited by Orlaith McBride and John Gibney, and featuring contributions from leading social historians, has also been published this year. Copies are now available to consult at all six branches of Westmeath Libraries.

The project was developed in partnership with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and is presented by the National Archives in association with Westmeath County Council.

Search the 1926 Census on the National Archives website.

For up-to-date information on the exhibition and launch event, see ‘Heritage News’ on the official Westmeath Culture website.