Irish Population

The population of the island of Ireland is now just under 6.4 million according to the 2011 censuses of population. The population of the country described as the Irish Republic is now 4,588,252, and Northern Ireland 1,810,900, giving a total for the island of Ireland of 6,399,152, the highest figure since the 1851 census when the total was 6,552,385 (1,442,517 in Northern Ireland). The population of the Irish Republic is often erroneously compared with figures prior to and immediately after the Great Famine of 1845-1850, figures for the island of Ireland which was then all part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The official 1841 pre-famine figure for the island of Ireland was 8,175,124 (a figure that was much higher by 1846), 6,526,179 for what is now called Ireland and 1,648,945 for what is now Northern Ireland.

A census of population was taken in Ireland every ten years from 1821 to 1911. The first four returns were almost completely destroyed by a fire in the Public Record 0ffice in 1922, and those from 1861 to 1891 were destroyed earlier. As a result, the only complete manuscript returns for each household in the 32 counties of Ireland that survive are those for 1901 and 1911, and are now the main sources of family history in Ireland. Both returns are available free online at www.nationalarchives.ie

No census was taken in 1921 because of the War of Independence; the first to take place in the Irish Free State was in 1926 (these returns are not available for a hundred years, unless that requirement is reduced). The Irish Republic has conducted a census every five years since 1941 (when one was held to record the population for the issue of wartime ration books) with the exceptions of 1976, when it was cancelled as a cost saving measure, and in 2001, when it was delayed by a year because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

A feature of Irish demography is its instability, with big declines recorded for years following the Great Famine; the lowest figure recorded for the Irish Republic was 2,818,341 in 1961 following massive emigration. Since then, the population has increased, with big changes in recent times. The 2006 census for the Irish Republic recorded a population of 4,239,848, an increase of 322,645 or 8.2 per cent in four years. These 2006 figures included about 420,000 foreign nationals from 188 different countries, reflecting the changed nature of Irish society. Between 2006 and 2011, the number of non-Irish nationals increased by 124,624, or 29.7 per cent to 544,357. There was continued net inward migration, which was strong during the early years of the inter-censal period but there was net outward migration in the latter years, reflecting a major recession in the Irish economy. The population of the island has increased by almost 800,000 between 2001/2 and 2012, with the figure for Northern Ireland now higher than even 1841.

With projected increases in the population for both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, it appears that the island of Ireland could have the highest population since the Great Famine within the next decade.

Bernard O'Hara's latest book entitled Killasser: Heritage of a Mayo Parish can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).

An earlier publication, a concise biography of Michael Davitt, entitled Davitt by Bernard O’Hara published in 2006 by Mayo County Council , is now available as Davitt: Irish Patriot and Father of the Land League by Bernard O’Hara, which was published in the USA by Tudor Gate Press (www.tudorgatepress.com) and is available from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk. It can be obtained as an eBook from the Apple iBookstore (for reading on iPad and iPhone), from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (Kindle & Kindle Fire) and from Barnesandnoble.com (Nook tablet and eReader).