A major national and international exhibition to visit Naas Library and Cultural Centre
The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census is a landmark exhibition marking the historic release of the 1926 Census returns. It explores the world reflected in the census and reveals what life was like in 1926: in towns and cities, across rural communities and islands, from crowded urban tenements to the mansions of the aristocracy.
Using contemporary documents and photographs, audio‑visual displays, and — at its heart — the census returns themselves, the exhibition presents a vivid portrait of Ireland a century ago. Visitors will encounter stories of work and daily life, language and culture, sport and entertainment, religion, gender, and the social realities of a newly independent state.
The exhibition forms part of a major public programme presented by the National Archives, with events in Ireland, the UK and the United States.
Kildare County Council is delighted to announce that Naas Library and Cultural Centre has been chosen as one of ten venues across the county to host the exhibition. It will take place from the 4 July– 28 July 2026, and will feature engaging talks and events to mark this historic release of records.
The 1926 Census data will be published and made publicly available on Saturday, 18 April 2026. The National Archives of Ireland has digitised over 700,000 individual return sheets containing data from the 26 Republic of Ireland counties. It will provide a unique snapshot of life in Ireland as the first census undertaken following the foundation of the state.
The census collected 21 data sets such as name, age, sex, marital status, religion, housing conditions and ability to speak Irish. Personal information entered on individual census forms can be published 100 years after a census is taken.
On the night of 18 April 1926:
- The population of Ireland was 2,971,992 with 49% female and 51% male. This demonstrated a 5.3% reduction since the previous census in 1911, which registered a population of 3,139,688.
- 92.6% of the population was Catholic
- 18.3% could speak Irish.
- Of those employed, 51% were in agricultural occupations, 4% were fisherman, 14% were in manufacturing and 7% were domestic servants.
More information on the exhibition and events taking place will be available on Kildare Library Service’s media channels and at https://kildarecoco.ie/library