The 1926 census is to be digitised and made available online in a project carried out by the National Archives of Ireland.
The project has been given €5 million in funding and due to be published online in April 2026.
It includes over 700,000 individual return census sheets, containing data from 26 counties.
The census in 1926 was the first to be carried out following the foundation of the State. It includes information about population, age, occupation, religion, housing and the Irish language.
The 1926 census is currently stored in 1,344 boxes and the National Archives of Ireland will be working with the CSO on the project.
Minister for Culture Catherine Martin said she was confident that the digitisation of the census will be completed ahead of the 100th anniversary of the 1926 census.
"It is my firm belief that census records and other genealogical records should be easily accessible and provided free of charge to the public," she said.
"Given the success of the digitised 1901 and 1911 census returns, I'm sure that the 1926 Census will be equally as popular and have a significant global reach once released. The census is a fundamental part of our national heritage and collective knowledge."
