# 1966 census of Ireland

The 1966 census of Ireland was held on 17 April 1966. It was organised by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and reported a total population of 2,884,002, which was a 2.3% increase in a span of five years. The total population rebounded from a record low of 2,818,341 recorded in the 1961 census, although northern and western regions continued to steeply decline in population. The census results were released gradually across seven volumes between 1967 and 1970.

## Information collected

For each household surveyed, the 1966 census requested the number of rooms in the dwelling occupied by the household, as well as ten primary pieces of information on each individual present, which were:
* i - Name
* ii - Relationship to head of household
* iii - Sex
* iv - Date of birth
* v - Marital status
* vi - Principal occupation (for persons 14 years or older)
* vii - Employment status (whether employee, employer, etc.)
* viii - Name of employer and business
* ix - Area and rateable valuation of agricultural land held
* x - Age at which full-time education ended and name of school, college, etc. (for persons not in full-time education)

### Release schedule

The seven volumes and their release schedule are as follows:
* Volume 1 - Population of DED's, towns and larger units of area (1967)
* Volume 2 - Ages and Conjugal conditions classified by areas (March 1968)
* Volume 3 - Industries (July 1968)
* Volume 4 - Occupations (January 1969)
* Volume 5 - Occupations and industries classified by areas and conjugal conditions (July 1969)
* Volume 6 - Housing and Households (December 1969)
* Volume 7 - Education (May 1970)

## Results
### Population

The total population of the Republic of Ireland according to the 1966 census was 2,884,002 of whom 1,449,032 (50.24%) were male and 1,434,970 (49.76%) were female. The population breakdown by province and county, and by city, are outlined below. While the total national population increased by 2.3% since the 1961 census, there were large regional variations, with northern and western counties in particular continuing a steady trend of depopulation. County Dublin experienced rapid growth of over 10% during this period, while every county in Connacht and Ulster recorded a population decrease.

### By province

| Province | Irish name | Population (1966) | Density (km$^2$) | Counties |
| Connacht | Connachta Cúige Chonnacht | 401,950 | 22.7 | 5 |
| Leinster | Laighin Cúige Laighean | 1,414,415 | 71.4 | 12 |
| Munster | Mumhain Cúige Mumhan | 859,334 | 34.8 | 6 |
| Ulster (part of) | Ulaidh Cúige Uladh | 208,313 | 25.8 | 3 |

### By county

| Rank | County | Population | Density (km$^2$) | Province | Change since previous census |
| 1 | Dublin | 795,047 | 862.3 | Leinster | 10.7% |
| 2 | Cork | 339,703 | 45.2 | Munster | 2.7% |
| 3 | Galway | 148,340 | 24.1 | Connacht | -1.0% |
| 4 | Limerick | 137,357 | 49.8 | Munster | 3.1% |
| 5 | Tipperary | 122,812 | 28.5 | Munster | -0.8% |
| 6 | Mayo | 115,547 | 20.7 | Connacht | -6.3% |
| 7 | Kerry | 112,785 | 23.5 | Munster | -3.2% |
| 8 | Donegal | 108,549 | 22.3 | Ulster | -4.6% |
| 9 | Wexford | 83,437 | 35.3 | Leinster | 0.2% |
| 10 | Clare | 73,597 | 21.3 | Munster | -0.1% |
| 11 | Waterford | 73,080 | 39.3 | Munster | 2.3% |
| 12 | Louth | 69,519 | 84.2 | Leinster | 3.2% |
| – | South Tipperary | 68,969 | 30.6 | Munster | -1.6% |
| 13 | Meath | 67,323 | 28.7 | Leinster | 3.4% |
| 14 | Kildare | 66,404 | 39.2 | Leinster | 3.1% |
| 15 | Kilkenny | 60,463 | 29.2 | Leinster | -2.0% |
| 16 | Wicklow | 60,428 | 29.8 | Leinster | 3.3% |
| 17 | Roscommon | 56,228 | 22.1 | Connacht | -5.0% |
| 18 | Cavan | 54,022 | 28.0 | Ulster | -4.5% |
| – | North Tipperary | 53,843 | 26.3 | Munster | 0.3% |
| 19 | Westmeath | 52,900 | 28.8 | Leinster | 0.1% |
| – | Dún Laoghaire Borough | 51,772 | 2,876 | Leinster | 8.3% |
| 20 | Offaly | 51,717 | 25.8 | Leinster | 0.4% |
| 21 | Sligo | 51,263 | 27.9 | Connacht | -4.3% |
| 22 | Monaghan | 45,732 | 35.3 | Ulster | -2.9% |
| 23 | Laoighis | 44,595 | 25.9 | Leinster | -1.1% |
| 24 | Carlow | 33,593 | 37.5 | Leinster | 0.8% |
| 25 | Leitrim | 30,572 | 19.2 | Connacht | -8.7% |
| 26 | Longford | 28,989 | 26.6 | Leinster | -5.4% |
| Total | Ireland | 2,884,002 | 41.0 | | 2.3% |
| | Average | 110,923 | | | |

### By city

| City | Population |
| Dublin | 650,153 |
| Cork | 125,283 |
| Limerick | 58,082 |
| Waterford | 29,842 |
| Galway | 26,295 |

## Viewing the returns

The census returns of 1966 were published by the Central Statistics Office and are available online. The website is freely accessible, with no charge for viewing any of the material.