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Come To Your Census: The Podcast

by RTÉ

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Latest episodes

  • Dublin’s Social Housing

    April 18, 2026 · 25 min

    This episode delves into the 1926 Census to explore the stories behind some of Dublin’s earliest public housing projects. In it, Liz Gillis is joined by local historians Maria O’Reilly and Eamonn Delaney, both with personal family…

  • Foreign Nationals And The Free State

    April 18, 2026 · 30 min

    In this episode, we look beyond the idea of a newly independent Ireland as isolated or inward looking and turn to the 1926 Census to uncover a more complex picture. Liz Gillis speaks with Dr. John Gibney from the Royal Irish Academy about…

  • The Protestant Population Of Ireland’s Border Counties

    April 18, 2026 · 30 min

    In this episode, Dr. Cormac Moore joins Liz Gillis to explore what the 1926 Census reveals about the Protestant population in Ireland’s border counties. While the data points to an overall decline, Liz and Cormac look at how that trend was…

  • Be Our Guest – A Temporary Bed For The Night

    April 18, 2026 · 30 min

    In this episode, Liz Gillis is joined by Zoe Reid, the National Archives’ Keeper of Manuscripts, to explore the stories hidden in census entries from those who were not at home on census night. From hotels and guest houses to city…

  • Revolutionaries – Where Are They Now?

    April 18, 2026 · 38 min

    By the time the 1926 Census was taken, Ireland had endured fifteen turbulent years that reshaped the nation, from the 1916 Rising to the War of Independence and Civil War. In this episode, Liz Gillis speaks with Greg Walls, a historian…

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  • From Gola Island To The World

    April 18, 2026 · 36 min

    In this episode, Liz Gillis speaks with Orlaith McBride, Director of the National Archives of Ireland, who reflects on the personal and national significance of the Census. From her family’s home on Gola Island in Co. Donegal, she shares…

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About the show

In April 1926, a few short years after the foundation of the Irish Free State, a census was taken to count and record people resident here. Nearly three million people were recorded in that census, every household return capturing the fabric of everyday life: names and families, occupations and languages, faith, birthplace. The details that shaped communities across the country. A century later, the release of the 1926 Census of Population into the public domain offers a rare and intimate glimpse into a pivotal moment in Ireland’s history as the foundations of a new state. To mark this historic release, the National Archives of Ireland have partnered with RTÉ to produce a two-part landmark documentary series, Come to your Census and an accompanying six-part podcast series. In this podcast series, historian Liz Gillis is joined by archivists and fellow historians – all of whom were granted early access to the records before they were issued to the public – Liz unpacks some of the key themes that emerge from the pages of the 1926 census. Over six episodes, the series reveals the stories, communities and social changes that shaped Ireland during the early years of the Free State.