Donegal County Museum to host The Census 1926 Exhibition Tour

The Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny will host a stopping point for The Census 1926 Exhibition Tour.

To celebrate the public release of the 1926 Census, the National Archives and Department of Culture, Communications and Sport announced a wide-ranging public engagement programme, which includes a book, The Story Of Us - Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census (Irish Academic Press), theatre production, The Good Luck Club (ANU Productions) and landmark RTÉ documentary, which will air next month. 

The programme also includes major exhibitions running at Dublin Castle, as well as in London and Boston.  The exhibition explores the world reflected in the census to reveal what life was like in the newly independent Ireland of 1926: in towns, cities, the countryside and the islands, from urban tenements to the mansions of the aristocracy. 

The Story of Us uses contemporary documents and images, audio-visual displays and the census returns themselves to present a picture of life in 1926: from sport and entertainment to language, culture, religion, gender and the working lives of the inhabitants of the Irish Free State a century ago. 

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A tour in Ireland is scheduled in partnership with local authorities around the country, and the National Archives have announced the full schedule for the exhibition, which takes in ten counties as well as the National Ploughing Championships.

The Donegal tour leg for The Census 1926 Exhibition Tour will take place from November 25 to December 20 at the Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny. 

National Archives Director Orlaith McBride said: “We’re grateful for the support of our partners at the National Ploughing Association and in local authorities across Ireland in helping us to bring Census 1926 to life for people through this touring exhibition. 

“The national tour is just one part of our wider public programme, which also includes a book, theatre production and landmark RTÉ documentary.”

Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, commented: “The census is the story of us, and it’s really important to us that as many people as possible can engage with our shared history. 

“This extensive public programme will ensure the stories, data, and human connections revealed by the census reach every community in Ireland and our diaspora worldwide.”