After a several year project by the National Archives of Ireland, in partnership with Libraries and Archives Canada, anyone may now search the 1911 census of Ireland by first or family name. The site contains the digital equivalent of 4,000 reels of microfilm and 3.5 million images. It currently holds records for Dublin only, but project organisers plan to add the rest of the country, as well as details of the 1901 census, next year.
Each entry includes a person's education, religion, profession and place of birth. A category for "children still living" suggests some astonishing child mortality rates. Another column asks people, in the jargon du jour, if they are "deaf and dumb; dumb only; blind; imbecile or idiot; or lunatic." You can read more about the records at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/about/index.html
The online version includes both a transcription as well as scanned images of each page. You can search the transcriptions for names, then click on a link to see the original image.
The 1911 census has some interesting entries:
William B Yeates (sic), a "dramatic author and poet" was recorded in the company of Lady Gregory at Nolan's Hotel on South Frederick Street.
The return for Marjorie Dixon of Buckingham Street shows that she had lost seven of her 13 children during her 28-year marriage.
The 1911 census records of Dublin, Ireland can be found at http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie
