Galway City and the 1926 Census
On 18 April 1926 the first census of an independent Irish state was undertaken. Across the 26 counties over 700,000 census forms were completed by, or on behalf of, the 2,971,992 people living in the Irish Free State. A century after the census forms were completed, they were released by the National Archives. Using the statistical information collated by the census along with some of the details to be found on the individual returns, this lecture will explore some of the textures of everyday life in Galway City, as revealed in April 1926.
Dr John Gibney is Assistant Editor with the Documents on Irish Foreign Policy (DIFP). He has worked extensively across the academic, heritage and publishing sectors and has written widely on Irish history and historiography. He and Orlaith McBride produced The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census (2026). He co-curated the major national and international exhibition developed by the National Archives to mark the release of the 1926 census. He is the author of A Short History of Ireland (Yale University Press, 2nd edition, 2025).
Date: Monday, 5 October 2026
Time: 20:00/8pm
Venue: Harbour Hotel, Galway