BellTime Magazine Spring/ Summer 2016 May 2016 | Page 58

BELLTIME

LIFE IN

1916

IRELAND

Stories from Statistics

To mark the centenary
celebrations the Central
Statistics Office (CSO) launched
a fascinating online publication
on March 2, 2016 that details
some of the changes that have
happened over the last one
hundred years. A souvenir
booklet that extracts some of
the information from the online
publication was published for
the launch that took place in the
Mansion House in Dublin.
You can check out the online
publication and the booklet
on the CSO website http://
www.cso.ie/en/statistics/
lifein1916irelandstoriesfrom
statistics

Baby’s names had over a
quarter of baby boys being
named John, Patrick or James.
http://www.cso.ie/en/
releasesandpublications/ep/p1916/1916irl/people/names/#d.
en.96428

longer. That’s a huge change too.
http://www.cso.ie/en/
releasesandpublications/ep/p1916/1916irl/bmd/deaths/#d.
en.97902

http://www.cso.ie/en/
releasesandpublications/ep/p1916/1916irl/bmd/births/#d.
en.97677

To purchase one pound weight
(454g) of best tea in 1916 would
cost the equivalent of €15.92
today. A pound weight (454g)
of creamery butter in 1916
would cost the equivalent of
€7.35 today. In 1914 candles
and paraffin oil (used in paraffin
lamps) were used to provide
lighting in homes. A shopping
basket of goods in 1916 would
look a lot different, be bought
with a different currency of
pounds, shillings and pence and
cost a lot different compared to
today.
The last section of the online
publication Census and People
of the 1916 Rising gives an
insight into people’s lives at
the time of the 1911 Census of
Population. Copies of the 1911
Census of Population forms and
a brief history of the family or
person give us a nice snapshot
of life back in 1911, see James
Connolly’s Census return for
1911 and get to know about
his family http://www.cso.ie/
en/releasesandpublications/
ep/p-1916/1916irl/cpr/cmp/
jc/ The 1911 Census forms for
over seventy different people are
selected for you to view.

A girl born in 2011 can expect to
live on average 28.6 years longer
than a girl born in 1911 and a
boy born in 2011 can expect
to live on average 24.7 years

All in all Life in 1916 Ireland:
Stories from Statistics is a very
interesting way of looking back
over a century of change in
Ireland. Enjoy.

Again almost one quarter of
baby girls were named Mary,
Bridget or Margaret.
http://www.cso.ie/en/
releasesandpublications/ep/p1916/1916irl/people/names/#d.
en.96421
Why not check out if your name
was in the top forty of baby boys
and girls names in 1911?
There were 21,133 one room
dwellings in Dublin City in 1916,
housing 69,796 citizens. This
factor no doubt contributed to
the high infant mortality rate
in Dublin City, which saw on
average 153.5 children out of
every thousand born, die before
reaching one year of age. The
equivalent figure for 2014 was
an average of 3.3 children out
of every thousand born dying
before reaching one year of age,
a dramatic change.

The infographic outlines some fascinating changes
just to whet your appetite
Just look at the changes in
infant mortality, life expectancy
and the number of cars
registered.
The online publication is a
treasure trove of insight into
a different Ireland. There have
been great changes in the
population of some counties
with the North and West of
Ireland losing people and the
South and East of Ireland
making in some cases dramatic
changes.
http://www.cso.ie/en/
releasesandpublications/ep/p1916/1916irl/population/#d.
en.94294

58