Has one of your ancestors failed to appear in the newly-released 1926 Irish census? Here are five top tips to help you find them...
1. Remember surname variants
Although the spelling of surnames was more standardised by the 1920s, there are still discrepancies, either at source or following transcription. Try wild cards or different spellings. Variant surname spellings can be found using the name search at the site Irish Ancestors.
2. Search for variants with O and Mc surnames
The search form is sensitive to how the ‘O’ or ‘Mc’ appears. For example, you get different results when searching for Riley, O’Riley, ORiley or O Riley, while ‘Mc’ can appear as McCormick, MacCormick or Mc Cormick.
3. Get out the Irish/English dictionary
Some returns were completed in Irish, so you may need to ascertain the Irish version of your surname. Another option is to search for the Irish first name only, such as Padraig for Patrick or Siobhan for Joan/Johanna, and scroll through the surnames in the dropdown list for the relevant Irish version.
4. Look for another household member
If you cannot find your direct ancestor, try searching for their siblings or spouse. Identify siblings using the civil birth registers. From 1898 the indexes include mother’s maiden name, making it relatively simple to locate a group of siblings.
5. Search by address
Establish your family’s townland address using birth, marriage or death registrations and District Electoral Division (DED); see the Irish Genealogical Research Society’s website. You can then navigate to the correct county, DED and townland in the 1926 census returns, where you can review the resident households.
