Census 1926

Delivering ‘The Story of Us’ for the National Archives.

On the night of 18 April 1926, every person in Ireland was counted. A century later, the National Archives released those records to the public, nearly three million individual census forms from the first census of an independent Irish state.

We were selected by the National Archives to create the name, brand identity and visual programme for the centenary release.

The name The Story of Us was developed to shift the census from an administrative record into something more personal, a collective portrait of a country and its people. It became the title of the book, the exhibition, and the wider public programme. As the director of the National Archives, Orlaith McBride put it at the launch: “The census has never been about lists and numbers. It’s the story of us.”

Census 1926 street poster reading 'The Story of Us', featuring a black and white family portrait from the 1920s, wheat-pasted on a brick wall with a pedestrian passing in the foreground.

National Archives Staff Scanning Census forms — National Archive staff scanning Census forms. Photo by Ros Kavanagh

We developed the campaign name and visual identity across a broad and varied programme. We designed the hardback book The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census, published by Irish Academic Press, and produced a launch film, along with launch graphics for Dublin Castle and the National Archives. A bilingual booklet was designed for distribution through 250,000 national newspapers. We are currently designing the touring exhibition, which travels to ten venues across Ireland from June to the end of 2026.

Visual of the Cover of the 'Story of Us' book.

Open hardback book showing the Part 1 section opener 'The World of the Census', with a full-bleed black and white photograph of a large group of farm workers gathered around a threshing machine.

Open hardback book showing a data-led spread from The Story of Us, featuring population infographics for the Irish Free State in 1926, including figures for gender, age, religion and Irish language speakers.

Open hardback book showing Chapter 21 of The Story of Us: 'Minority population decline in the south of Ireland between 1911 and 1926', with charts comparing Catholic and non-Catholic population decline across the 26 counties.

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A National Archives conservator carefully untying the green laces from a bound volume of 1926 census forms, labelled Cavan, prior to digitisation. — The large volumes of forms were originally laced together for security. For conservation and digitisation, the green laces were carefully untied and removed from each volume. Photo: Ros Kavanagh

The Story of Us Census 1926 newspaper booklet resting on top of the Irish Times Weekend Edition, dated Saturday/Sunday 18/19 April 2026, photographed on a wooden table. — The bilingual newspaper insert that advertised the launch of the Census, the exhibitions and the book.

Open spread of the Census 1926 bilingual newspaper insert, showing headline findings including population statistics, workforce breakdown and a guide to the 1926 Census online platform at nationalarchives.ie.

The response has been phenomenal.

In the first two days, the release generated 20 million hits, one million individual visits and one million downloads. Google searches relating to the census rose by 120% over the launch weekend. Across Ireland and the diaspora, in the UK, the US, Australia and across the world, people connected with their family histories.

Black and white photograph of a Gaelic football match at Croke Park, 1926, with a packed terrace of spectators visible in the background.

Close-up of the 1926 census return for Cornelius Brosnan, listing his occupation as Captain in the National Army, alongside the entry for Catherine Brosnan, listed as wife.

Every entry in the census is someone’s story. Some of them are extraordinary.

Shown above is a still from that years All-Ireland Football Final in Croke Park. Having drawn the first match, Kerry went on to defeat Kildare by 1-4 to 0-4 on 17 October 1926.

Shown also is a section from the the census return of midfielder and co-captain Con Brosnan. Listed in the return as a Captain in the Army, Brosnan had served on the Free State side during the Civil War. He famously guaranteed safe passage for republican teammates such as (his fellow co-captain in 1926) John Joe Sheehy and Joe Barrett, allowing them to line out for Kerry despite being on the opposing side of the conflict. It is said that football played no small part in healing the deep divisions that scarred Kerry in those bitter years.

Find Your Story at: nationalarchives.ie

Ambassador Martin Fraser speaks at a podium branded “Census 1926” during an indoor launch event, with Minister O’Donovan and Director of the Archives Orlaith McBride seated. — Ambassador Martin Fraser speaks at the London launch with Minister O’Donovan and Director of the Archives Orlaith McBride seated.

Census 1926 outdoor billboard reading 'The story of sport', featuring a black and white photograph of a GAA match, displayed on a brick wall under a railway bridge.

The national tour will visit eleven venues around Ireland from June to the end of 2026. See all dates and venues for the national tour on the Archives website.

Credits

Ross Kavanagh – Photography
Book Editors – Orlaith McBride & John Gibney (RIA)
Finn Media Ltd – Marketing
Alice PR – Event Management and PR
Music – The Gloaming
Dublin Exhibition – Image Makers
Ebow Digital – Webdesign