Mary Kenny
Photo: iStock.
The online publication of the 1926 Census, available to all without charge, is a great achievement by the National Archives, and its director, Orlaith McBride.
As the writer Joseph O’Connor has commented – it “will bring revelation and amazement to Irish people all over the world, a sense of belonging when we most need it.”
And as people today will now research the whereabouts of grandparents, or parents, I also hope it will bring a greater sense of understanding about the past.
Some of the jobs listed paint a picture of how Ireland was – a poor country emerging from a troubled history and the wreckage of war.
While 52% of the population was engaged in agriculture, other occupations included chimney sweep, lamplighter, umbrella fixer, knitter, hosiery maker, High Court crier. We might also add, from other sources of social history (such as the books by Dublin chronicler Kevin Kearns) farrier, pawnshop worker, jarvey, docker, moneylender, messenger boy and (barefoot) newspaper vendor.
Population
Work meant doing anything you could: the population of 2,971,992 had no welfare state to sustain them or help them survive.
For example, a father who lost his tramway job and could no longer provide for his five children, felt impelled to commit his two young daughters to an industrial school. We think this is a terrible thing – looking back from the comforts of the 21st century – but it may have been the only alternative to total destitution.
It’s more complex: the Anglo-Irish lost a huge number of sons and heirs in the First World War”
The general population had decreased since 1911, and it’s noted that the proportion of Protestants dropped by 32% in the Free State. Some commentators have suggested that this was because Southern Unionists (as many Protestants were) felt squeezed out by the majority Catholic national state.
I think it’s more complex: the Anglo-Irish lost a huge number of sons and heirs in the First World War, and their numbers were depleted by that calamity (and, because of this demographic loss, their marriage opportunities were also diminished.) Some, as well, were associated with Crown employment which would revert to London after 1922. And Irish people of all religions emigrated.
Overall, what is emerging from this 1926 Census is a myriad of human stories whose context will surely enhance knowledge and insight into the early years of the Free State – as it began the process of building a modern, stable democracy.
The Irish Free State, for all its flaws, did its best in the circumstances of the time – composed, as it was of all those striving and sometime struggling individuals and families who filled in that Census form on April 18, 1926.
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Everyone likes a love story – especially across social barriers – and France has been excited by the news that a pretty young princess, Maria Carolina de Bourbon of the Two Sicilies, is dating Jordan Bardella, MEP and president of the right-wing National Rally party (led by Marine le Pen).
The magazine Paris-Match has splurged its joyful report of the romantic alliance in full colour – although with due decorum – across their pages. Maria Carolina, aged 22, (and also Duchess of Calabria and Palermo), is the direct descendant of Louis XIV, and thereby of St Louis of France. She says, sweetly, that her family history “mirrors that of Europe” (although maybe not everyone’s Europe!)
Jordan Bardella, 30, is the grandson of a Tunisian immigrant worker and grew up in a depressing high-rise block of flats in the grim suburb of St Denis (educated with some academic success at a LaSalle school). He has risen through the ranks of his political party – and is considered a moderating influence on the Le Pen extremism.
The couple met at a Monaco motoring event, where Jordan Bardella took his father for a special treat.
If the romance turns to matrimony, expect a very grand Catholic wedding at Notre Dame or La Madeleine church in Paris. By which time, Mr Bardella could well be President of France.
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There was widespread international approval when Australia announced, earlier this year, that it would ban social media for under-16-year-olds. Youngsters see too much horrible stuff via their screens – who wouldn’t want to protect them?
Yet it’s little surprise that so far the experiment seems to have failed: over 60% of Aussie young teens are still managing to access all they want through various ‘workaround’ strategies.
They have apparently little trouble using fake IDs, and a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to log on. Don’t ask me how that works – I’m dunce at most tekkie stuff.
Screens are now so established in so many fields that it’s difficult to reverse the trend. A new report just published by The Bookseller tells us that many young children today are puzzled by the appearance of a book – they try to zoom in on illustrations or swipe at the printed page as if it were a screen.