Nature of Source
Records of Old Age Pension claims and applications in Ireland often include searches of the 1841 and 1851 census returns. After the Old Age Pensions Act was passed in 1908 (with pensions first paid from January 1909), applicants were required to prove they were at least 70 years old. This meant they had to show they were born before 1840. Since civil registration of births in Ireland did not begin until 1864, most people could not produce birth certificates.
To establish proof of age, government officials conducted searches of the 1841 and 1851 census returns, which were then still held in Dublin. Extracts from the census were copied onto official forms and attached to pension applications. These extracts, also known as Census Search Forms or Pension Search Forms, often record the applicant’s name, approximate age, details of parents, siblings and other household members.
The surviving records do not record every applicant, with around 23,000 forms surviving. They are considered an invaluable census substitute, particularly since almost all pre-1901 Irish census returns were destroyed in the 1922 Four Courts fire during the civil war. The surviving forms, sometimes referred to as ‘green forms’, are handwritten and can be difficult to decipher but remain a crucial resource for tracing Irish ancestry.
Church of Ireland parish registers were used in addition to the 1841 and 1851 census returns to verify an applicant’s age for the Old Age Pension in Ireland. The census returns were often the first source to check a person’s age, but when an entry could not be found or were inconclusive officials turned to Church of Ireland baptismal registers for proof of age. These forms not only show successful matches confirming an applicant’s age but also instances where no entry could be found.
Where Found
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
The archives holds Old Age Pension Census Search Forms, mainly for individuals in counties Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, and Tyrone.
National Archives of Ireland
The Archives holds digitised copies of Old Age Pension Census Search Forms, amounting to over 136,000 names. In addition, the Archives house ‘green forms’ and 13 volumes of Church of Ireland Parish Registers search forms created before 1922.
Period Covered
1841 – 1851
Genealogical Value
- Name, address and age of applicant.
- Name of applicant’s parents.
- Applicant’s address including townland, parish, barony, county.
- Age at the time of the 1841 and 1851 census.
- Age at time of claim.
- Occasionally names of all siblings and date and place of baptism.
Further References
Family History Guides
- Adolph, Anthony. Collins Tracing Your Irish Family History: HarperCollins, 2007
- Begley, Donal. Handbook on Irish Genealogy: How to Trace Your Ancestors and Relatives: Heraldic Artists, 1984
- Connell, Gretta. Tracing Your Westmeath Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Corrigan, Mario & Durney, James & Kiely, Karel. Tracing your Kildare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2014
- Davis, Bill. Irish Ancestry – A Beginner’s Guide: FFHS, 2001
- Falley, Margaret Dickson. Irish and Scottish-Irish Ancestral Research: GPC, 1981 (1962)
- Franklin, Margaret. Tracing your Limerick Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Grenham, John. Irish Ancestors, A Pocket Guide to Your Family History: Gill & Macmillan, 2004
- Grenham, John. Tracing Your Irish Ancestors: Gill & Macmillan, 2011
- Hamrock, John. Tracing your Roscommon Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2007
- Kinealy, Christine. Tracing Your Irish Roots: Appletree Press, 2009
- McCarthy, Tony. The Irish Roots Guide. Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1991
- McCarthy, Tony & Cadogan, Tim. Tracing Your Cork Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2011
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Ancestors in Northern Ireland: A Guide to Ancestry Research in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland: Stationery Office, 1997
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Armagh Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. Researching Down Ancestors: A Practical Guide for the Family and Local Historian: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Maxwell, Ian. How To Trace Your Irish Ancestors: How To Books, 2009
- Maxwell, Ian. Your Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2008
- Maxwell, Ian. Tracing Your Northern Irish Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians: Pen and Sword, 2010
- Meehan, Helen & Duffy, Godfrey. Tracing Your Donegal Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2008
- Mitchell, Brian. A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Basic Guide to Irish Records for Family History: Clearfield Company, 2009
- Mitchell, Brian. Tracing Derry-Londonderry Roots: Clearfield Company, 2014
- Mitchell, Brian. NEW Pocket Guide to Irish Genealogy Paperback: Clearfield, 2020
- O’Connor, Michael H. Tracing your Kerry Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 1994
- O’Dowd, Peadar. Tracing your Galway Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Ouimette, David. Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide: Ancestry.com, 2005
- Paton, Chris. Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet: A Guide For Family Historians: Pen & Sword Books, 2013
- Prochaska, Alice, Irish History from 1700: A Guide to Sources in the Public Record Office: British Records Association, 1986
- Raymond, Stuart. Irish Family History on the Web: The Family History Partnership, 2007
- Roulston, William. Researching Scots-Irish Ancestors: The Essential Genealogical Guide to Early Modern Ulster, 1600-1800: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2005
- Ryan, James. Irish Records: Sources for Family & Local History: Flyleaf Press, 1997
- Ryan, James & Smith, Brian. Tracing Your Dublin Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2009
- Ryan, James. Tracing your Sligo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2012
- Smith, Brian. Tracing your Mayo Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2010
- Smith, Brian & Kennedy, Gerry. Tracing Your Clare Ancestors: Flyleaf Press, 2013
- Stewart, Alan. My Ancestor Was Irish: A Guide to Sources for Family Historians: Society of Genealogists, 2012
Other
- Bradshaw’s Railway Map Great Britain and Ireland 1852: Mapseeker Publishing, 2013
- Connolly, S.J. The Oxford Companion to Irish History: Oxford University Press, 2007
- Coogan, Tim, Pat. The Famine Plot: England’s Role in Ireland’s Greatest Tragedy: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013
- Dickson, R.J. Ulster Emigration to Colonial America, 1718-1775: Ulster Historical Foundation, 1976
- Grenham, John. The Little Book of Irish Clans and Tartans: Book Sales, 1995
- Robinson, Philip. Plantation of Ulster: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2000
- Smith, Paul & Turner, Keith. Railway Atlas of Ireland Then & Now: Ian Allan Publishing, 2014
Websites
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Irish Pension Records: Census Search Forms.
Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine
Irish census records and census substitutes: Where to find them. Although many have been destroyed, Irish census records and their substitutes are still essential tools for anyone researching their Irish roots.
Irish Genealogy Toolkit
Ireland census substitutes.
FamilySearch Research Wiki
Ireland Census Substitutes.
Libraries NI
Census and Census Substitutes.
Paul MacCotter
Census Substitutes.
General Ireland Resources
Irish Genealogy
Irish Genealogical Research: Getting Started. The site offers practical advice and guidance for people beginning their journey into Irish family history research with a number of key recommendations.
FamilySearch Learning Center
Getting Started in Irish Genealogy presented by Marie E. Daly. Lecture designed to acquaint beginning genealogist with strategies and sources for getting started in Irish genealogy
John Grenham
Irish Ancestors. The website is dedicated to Irish ancestry and genealogy research. It offers various tools and resources for people interested in tracing their Irish family history. Key features include a surname search and place name search and guides to researching Irish ancestry.
The Irish Times
How to trace your Irish family history: a step-by-step guide, by John Grenham.
Timeline Research Ireland
Tracing Irish Ancestors Online. A free up to date guide by Nicola Morris.
Irish Genealogy
The site provides information about available church records for family history research in Ireland.
Irish Archives Resource
IAR does not hold any collections itself but helps researchers locate archival records and collections in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by entering the name of a person, place or subject. The catalogue includes many organisations, societies, political organisations and businesses.
RASCAL
Research and Special Collections Available Locally. An electronic gateway to research resources in Ireland. You can use this website to search and browse information about the wide range of research and special collections held in libraries, museums and archives across the region.
Fianna Study Group
The site offers a comprehensive resource for individuals researching Irish ancestry including:
- Transcriptions of primary sources including birth, death and marriage records.
- Guides to Irish genealogical research, including basics, frequently asked questions and detailed instructions on searching records and understanding Irish naming patterns.
- Articles and timelines covering Irish history.
- County-specific resources devoted to each county in Ireland.
- Emigration and migration help including passenger lists, ship records and resources for tracing Irish ancestors who moved to the USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.
Irish Genealogical Research Society
The Society, founded in 1936, is dedicated to promoting the study of Irish genealogy and preserving genealogical materials, particularly those compiled before the loss of many documents in the 1922 Public Record Office fire in Dublin. The Society manages an extensive reference library of printed and manuscript genealogical materials, considered the most important private collection of Irish genealogical resources globally. Details on how to access these materials are available on their website, along with specifics about their contents. The society offers guidance to family historians through its publications and various other resources.
Online Historical Population Reports
Histpop. University of Essex. The collection provides online access to the complete British population reports for Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1937 including official reports, legislation and essays on the censuses including statistical analysis. The documents on the site include indexes to parishes, townships and places used in the official reports.
Findmypast
Ireland Census Reports. Learn about the community in which your ancestor lived with census reports detailing population and area statistics from the latter half of the 19th century up to the early 20th century. The reports provide statistical details regarding the number of inhabitants in a given townland. The statistical details are broken down by gender, age, or other similar categories.
Findmypast
Ireland Statistical Surveys. Search these surveys from the early 1800s to learn about the history, customs, politics, and industries of these 10 counties: Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, King’s (Offaly), Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Roscommon, and Tyrone. Discover what pre-famine life looked like for your ancestor.
Townland Resources
Irish Genealogical Research Society
Index of Townlands, 1901. The site offers access to the Index of Townlands from 1901. The index, published in 1904 by the Commissioners of Census, was created as an aid in processing the returns for the 1901 census of Ireland. The index provides an alphabetical listing of townlands and towns in Ireland, along with various administrative divisions such as parishes and electoral divisions.
Irish Townland and Historical Map Viewer
Tailte Éireann (formerly Ordnance Survey Ireland). The service allows users to view historical and townland boundaries and features for the island of Ireland on interactive maps. Enables fast search and pinpointing of particular Irish townlands, names and boundary features.
The IreAtlas
Townland database. Search of the IreAtlas Townland database. The results of a county or townland search show all the townlands within the requested county together with the barony and parish.
nidirect
Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. In this section you can access lists of townlands arranged in the following different ways by county, by parish, within the estates of major landowners and alphabetically.
Irish Homelands
The website offers a tool for exploring Irish townlands. Users can access a detailed list of townlands and search by parish or county if you’re unsure of the townland name.
John Grenham
Irish Placenames. 1851 General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, parishes and Baronies of Ireland. Search the entire Index, together with street listings from Dublin, Cork and Belfast cities, more than 65,000 entries in all.
Irish Genealogy
Family Research 2016: Placenames. This article explains and explores how townlands and parishes got their names with links to useful resources.
Online Databases
Findmypast
Church Of Ireland Parish Record Search Forms. Containing over 11,000 records, the search forms were used to test claims of applicants for the Old Age Pension. Since civil registration was only introduced in Ireland in 1864, those applying for an old age pension in the early years after its introduction in 1909 had to rely on parish records.
Findmypast
Ireland Census Search Forms 1841 and 1851. Discover details of your ancestor’s family from the 1841 and 1851 Irish census in their 1909 pension application.
Ancestry
Ireland, Census Search Forms, 1841-1851. This collection includes records of census search forms for Ireland for the years 1841 and 1851. These searches were introduced in 1908 following the Old Age Pensions Act and were used as proof of entitlement to the pension.
National Archives of Ireland
1841 and 1851 Census Search Forms. Search records from the ‘green forms’ which were Old Age Pension applications and forms with information taken from the 1841 and 1851 censuses. The original forms from 1909 onwards are held in the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland and cover Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyron.
Emerald Ancestors
Northern Ireland Census, 1841-1851. This database contains an index of names from 1841 and 1851 census abstracts held within Old Age Pension records made during the early 1900’s.
Ulster Historical Foundation
The Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 1956, dedicated to those researching the history and genealogy of Ulster and its families. The site offers access to over 2 million searchable records including: Old Age Pension. Proof of Age Extraction Claim Forms 1841, 1851.
Ancestry
Irish Records Index, 1500-1920. This database is an index containing a wide range of Irish historical records held at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The index includes details such as name, date, residence and item numbers drawn from histories, pedigrees, parish registers, probates, and orphan’s court records.
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