But in June of 1922 it was the scene of a battle between Free State forces and Republican Irregulars who had made the Four Courts their headquarters. The Free State bombardment set the building on fire midday on 30 June, and shortly thereafter a land mine exploded, fire spread, and the conflagration destroyed the building. Documents were found in the River Liffey, three miles away. The flames consumed the original returns of the 1831 census. One way or another, a number of early census records have survived.
Details appear in a variety of publications.
These returns have been microfilmed and are in the collections of the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. But there were differences among national censuses. Irish returns required much more information than the form used in England, Scotland, and Wales. The census asked for name, age, occupation, marital status and year of marriage, county of origin, and relationship to the head of the household. In addition, the form recorded whether individuals could read or write, details of those absent, and details of those deceased since 1831 including relationship, occupation, and year of death and cause.