On Wednesday, August 5^th Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr. Liam Brazil, officially opened the exhibition “The Story of Us”, the National Archives exhibition on the 1926 census at Central Library in Lady Lane.

Mayor Brazil welcomed the visit of the exhibition to Waterford but did warn people that the census just might lay bare secrets kept in families for years! He highlighted some of the families in Lady Lane, including the Librarian Kathleen Morrin, and took the opportunity to thank Zoe Reid, Keeper of Manuscripts at the National Archives and all of the team at the National Archives who worked to make the census available both online and for the exhibition.

Zoe Reid outlined the work carried out by the National Archives to conserve each and every page of the census forms to prepare them for digitisation, and of the careful testing and work carried out to ensure that the census online would work from the moment it was first made public on April. She spoke about how important it was to everyone at the National Archives that the census was available across the country and that she was delighted to be in Waterford to share the story of the census which was “The Story of Us”. 

Fin Dwyer, Irish History Podcast, spoke about the people in the Imperial Hotel (located at what is now the Tower Hotel) on the night of the census; the story of Annie O’Keefe, a widow and her six children living in what were then very poor conditions in Alexander Street and of the young men of the National Army stationed at the barracks in Barrack Street. He also looked at the City Institutions and the growth in the state of institutions, such as, the asylums, the Magdalene Laundries and industrial schools. He emphasised how important the 1926 census will be for historians in deepening our understanding of our history.

The exhibition includes archives from the Waterford City and County Archives. The exhibition is presented by the National Archives in association with Waterford City and County Council. TheStory of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census has been developed in partnership with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

The exhibition is open to the public at Central Library, Lady Lane until August 20th, and laptops will be available for people to search the census online at https://nationalarchives.ie/

There will be lunchtime talks on the exhibition and the census during Heritage Week.  Joanne Rothwell, Waterford City and County Archivist, will be “Delving into the Display” of archives from Waterford City and County Archives that accompany the exhibition on Tuesday, August 18th at 1.30pm, while historian Eugene Brodkerick will be providing a “Tale of Two Streets in Waterford”, looking into Alexander and William Street on Wednesday, August 19th  at 1.30pm.

To find out more about these and further events in Waterford for Heritage Week visit www.heritageweek.ie