Census Search Forms 1841 & 1851
When the Old Age Pension was introduced in Ireland in
1908, people had to prove they were over 70 years of age in order to
qualify. As Civil Registration did not begin until 1864, birth certificates
were not available for those born before that date. The government,
therefore, found it necessary to establish a person’s age by allowing
the census returns of 1841 and 1851 to be searched. (The original forms
were subsequently destroyed in 1922, during the Civil War.) Applicants
provided the information by letter, and where there were sufficient
details, a search was carried out. When the family was found, and the
applicant identified as a child of the family, a certified copy of the
return was provided on payment of two shillings. The information in
the Census Search Forms, or ‘Green Forms’ – the internal
office records of the search made - is given here. Two points of access
are provided to the information: by the applicant’s surname, and
(where given) by the applicant’s mother’s maiden name.