Paul Rouse: A young nation at play - what the 1926 census reveals about sport in the new Free State

The 1926 census will be released publicly -- and for free -- in the coming weeks. 

Looking at an image of Kelly's Garage on Catherine Street, Waterford are Minister for Culture Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD, and National Archives Director Orlaith McBride at the launch of a comprehensive public programme of events ahead of the centenary release of data from the 1926 Census. Pic: Mark Stedman

Later this month, on Saturday, 18 April 2026, the records of the 1926 census will be made public on the National Archives of Ireland website.

The release will offer an extraordinary insight into every family and community in Independent Ireland in the years immediately after the establishment of the Irish Free State and the partition of the island. There are returns from 700,000 homes. The scale and nature of the information contained will transform our knowledge of the lives of people from the middle of cities to the most remote of country areas.