1926 Census exhibition launched in Westmeath

A landmark exhibition exploring life in Ireland a century ago has been officially launched in Westmeath. ‘The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census’ was launched on Tuesday, August 26, by Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Bill Collentine.

The exhibition examines what life was like in Ireland following independence, using information gathered in the 1926 Census to explore the country’s economy, society and culture.

Speaking at the launch, Cllr Collentine described the publication of the 1926 Census as an important contribution to Ireland’s history and heritage.

He praised the National Archives for its work in making the census available online and for curating the exhibition.

“The material tells us a lot about what Ireland was like for our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents in 1926,” Cllr Collentine said.

The exhibition uses census information relating to employment, religion, language and gender to provide an insight into everyday life in the newly independent State.

Cllr Collentine also welcomed the decision to include Westmeath as a stop on the exhibition’s national tour.

“I am delighted that Westmeath has been chosen as one of the stops on the tour of this exhibition and I encourage everyone to take this opportunity to visit it here in County Buildings,” he said.

Director of Service Deirdre Reilly, acting as Chief Executive on the night, welcomed the guest speakers Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives and Dr John Gibney Historian with the Royal Irish Academy and all in attendance. Ms Reilly noted that the guest speakers edited the companion book to the exhibition entitled ‘The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census’. The book is available in all branches of Westmeath Libraries.

Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives of Ireland spoke about the painstaking work that went on behind the scenes for three years to capture handwritten detail from over 700,000 individual household returns of the 1926 Census to make it available online in April of this year. She spoke about the insights the census offers into the population of Ireland in 1926. Dr John Gibney Historian with the Royal Irish Academy and a Westmeath Resident delivered a fascinating talk about the Westmeath of 1926. He referred to newspaper articles and advertisements of the time before delving into some interesting statistics relating to the population of Westmeath in 1926.

The exhibition features a series of information panels, beautifully illustrated with contemporary photographs, and an audio-visual that presents information on the Ireland of 1926. It includes a replica census book and visitors are invited to take home a copy of the booklet that accompanies the exhibition. The exhibition explores themes such as education, industry, family size and one of the panels focuses specifically on data collected in the 1926 census in Westmeath.

It is open weekdays 10am-4pm until September 4, till 8pm on September 1 and 3.