Cork centenarians attend exhibition on North Main Street on Census 2026

Three of Cork’s centenarian ambassadors — people who were recorded in the 1926 census — attended the launch last week of a free exhibition showcasing materials featured in the census.

The exhibition, The Story of Us: Independent Ireland and the 1926 Census, focuses on different facets of life in Ireland a century ago, offering new perspectives on the major social, cultural, and political events of the day.

Accompanying the release of Census 1926, it covers a range of themes, including patterns of employment, education and language, dwellings, and domestic life.

The exhibition explores the world reflected in the census and reveals what life was like in 1926: in towns and cities, across rural communities and islands, from crowded urban tenements to the mansions of the aristocracy.

Stories of work and daily life

Visitors will encounter stories of work and daily life, language and culture, sport and entertainment, religion, gender, and the social realities of a newly independent state.

Presented by the Cork City and County Archives Service, in partnership with the National Archives, the exhibition draws on census data, statistical reports, and news of the day to create a portrait of Ireland in 1926.

The exhibition was launched by Lord Mayor Damian Boylan and councillor Pat Hayes, deputising on behalf of the county mayor, and was attended by Cork centenarians Joe Davis (103), Noelle Newenham (101), and Mary Hosford (102).

The launch included talks by Cónal Creedon, novelist, playwright, and documentary filmmaker; Orlaith McBride, director of the National Archives of Ireland; and Professor Ciara Breathnach, professor of Irish gender history at University College Cork.

The launch event was made special by the attendance of three Cork centenarian ambassadors their families: Mary Hosford, Noelle Newenham, and Joe Patrick Davis.

Speakers at the event noted that these ambassadors help us connect the historical record with living memory, offering personal reflections on a century of change.

The exhibition runs at St Peter’s, North Main St, until Saturday, July 25.