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Official census taking came later to
Ireland although social historians rightly point to the rich source
of demographic an d socio-economic data available from earlier work
such as that of Sir William Petty in the Down Survey. (Petty had
estimated the population of Ireland at 1.1 million in 1672).
However, the first official attempt at modern enumeration came in
1813. Sadly, it was not a success, the supervision of the
enumeration having been passed to the Grand Juries of the various
counties who were not adequately structured to accomplish the task.
In some counties no steps were taken whilst in others the work
completed was unsatisfactory. After two years the attempt was
abandoned. Both the censuses of 1821 and 1831 also experienced
certain difficulties - and it was not until 1841 when Ordnance
Survey Maps were available that a total comprehensive enumeration
was achieved.
From 1821 censuses were taken at ten
yearly intervals until 1911. Subsequently, events in Ireland
resulted in the postponement of the 1921 Census. This resulted in a
break with Great Britain Census timing - one which was not restored
until 1951. It was not until 1925 that the Northern Ireland Minister
of Finance introduced the second reading on a Census Bill. He
indicated that it was nearly 15 years since the last Census in
Ireland and that intervening events such as the Great War and the
1918-19 flu epidemic required a census to be carried out. It was
accordingly held on 18 April 1926 (the day also of a census in the
rest of Ireland). The head of each household was given a form to
fill in on behalf of everyone in the dwelling on a certain day. This
system has stood the test of time and it still forms the basis of
the method we use today.
In order to bridge the gap between the
census of 1926 and the planned census of 1941 a census of more
limited scope (e.g. omitting questions regarding occupation and
industry) was taken in 1937. The outbreak of war and the subsequent
paper shortage led to a restricted publication programme and later,
inevitably, to the abandonment of plans for the 1941 census. Since
1951 Censuses in Northern Ireland have been held at the same time as
the rest of the United Kingdom at ten yearly intervals, with the
exception of the additional 1966 mid term census.
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