The Census Search Forms or ‘Green Forms’ were completed by the staff of the Public Record Office of Ireland from information supplied by applicants for the Old Age Pension seeking evidence of their age.
The Old Age Pension was introduced in 1908 and the ‘Green Forms’ were made between 1910 and 1922. Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths was not begun in Ireland until 1864 and birth certificates were not therefore available for persons of eligible age (70 years). Proof of age could be obtained in a variety of ways including searches in parish registers, army records and the census. The ‘Green Forms’ were used as an internal office record of the search made in the census. Applicants provided the information by letter and where there were sufficient details a search was carried out. When the family was found and the applicant identified as a child of the family a certified copy of the return was issued on payment of two shillings.
The information on the forms varies and searches were sometimes made at several addresses. Many searches were unsuccessful. The documents are arranged by county, barony, parish, townland/street and name of the family searched in the census. In cases where only the name of the applicant is given, this is noted. The year given in the list shows which census was searched. Most of the forms indicate whether the search is to be made in 1841 or 1851 or both. At some periods pink forms were used for 1841 but green was mainly used for both years. Where the census in question is not clear, it is thought likely to have been 1851 and this is indicated by a question mark (e.g. 1851 ?).
The parish and townland/street names shown in the list are those where the claimants believed their family to have been living in 1841 or 1851. In some cases several places are given and where the family was not found all are included in the list. Where the family was found, only the correct address, where this is clear, is shown. An asterisk * after the surname, means more information is available on the back of the form (and this has been filmed). A question mark ? in the X not found column only means this could be either the 1841 or the 1851 census (uncertainty exists as to which).
An X in the not found column means the family 'not found' in this search. xref means a cross reference added by the editor (indexer) to indicate a repeat entry (with same NAI reference number) putting the extra surname first e.g. Tuft or Tuff and Tuff or Tuft. The column Item Number is the position on the roll of microfilm and is important as sometimes there can be 20 or more items on a film reel.
- From: Old Age Pension Forms, National Archives Dublin
- Compiled by Terry Eakin