Irish Ancestry Research Centre
1901 Irish Census Research Made Easy
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Kickstart researching the 1901 Irish Census for your town, street, or townland, with our downloadable digital GEDCOM files for as little as €39. Upload them to Ancestry, Myheritage, Findmypast or any family genealogy programme and let their OCR and AI technology search their 60 billion+ archives and find relevant records for you in minutes.Â
Gedcom files are ideal for.................
Libraries & County Genealogists
Local History Clubs & Historians
Teachers & Educators
Transition year student projects
Bloggers & Content creators
Authors & Storytellers
Heritage Centres & Local Tour Guides
Family Genealogists
Professional Genealogists
Beginners & the mildly curious
Why the 1901 Census?
The 1901 Irish Census stands as the earliest complete Census record for the entire island. Prior records from 1813 to 1891 were destroyed mostly on purpose. Hence, for comprehensive research on ancestors and descendants residing in Ireland as of March 31st, 1901, the 1901 Census serves as the definitive starting point.
In 10 minutes you can access billions of records online with our GEDCOM file. Here's how we create it

This is a sample 1901 Census Record
In this household seven members of the Matthews family, two parents, three children, one daughter in law, and a new grandchild, all lived at House 12 Main Street Monasterevin, Co. Kildare on Census night. March 31st 1901.
We convert that data to a GEDCOM file format
What is a GEDCOM File?
GEDCOM, short for “GEnealogical Data COMmunications,” serves as a standardized format for genealogy files. It allows seamless exchange of genealogical information across various genealogy software programs, such as Legacy Family Tree, a software you purchase and install on your computer. Moreover, GEDCOM files can be uploaded to online platforms like Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast.
A GEDCOM file organizes family tree data into a text file format, as demonstrated in this sample. Although not intended for human reading, this format facilitates easy interpretation and conversion by any genealogy software program.
Fortunately, all major genealogy software packages and websites support both uploading (importing) and downloading (exporting) files in the GEDCOM standard, ensuring compatibility and ease of sharing genealogical data.Â
Here is a sample of GEDCOM coding for Thomas and Nannie Matthews
What is a GEDCOM file?
GEDCOM, short for “GEnealogical Data COMmunications,” serves as a standardized format for genealogy files. It allows seamless exchange of genealogical information across various genealogy software programs, such as Legacy Family Tree, a software you purchase and install on your computer. Moreover, GEDCOM files can be uploaded to online platforms like Ancestry, MyHeritage, and Findmypast.
A GEDCOM file organizes family tree data into a text file format, as demonstrated in this sample. Although not intended for human reading, this format facilitates easy interpretation and conversion by any genealogy software program.
Fortunately, all major genealogy software packages and websites support both uploading (importing) and downloading (exporting) files in the GEDCOM standard, ensuring compatibility and ease of sharing genealogical data.Â
Upload the GEDCOM file to Ancestry.com and it finds records for you in minutes
Our GEDCOM file converts Census data into a structured family tree for each household, including parents, children, and grandchildren. Upon completion of your purchase, download the file and upload it to most genealogy software programs. Utilize their powerful OCR and AI technology to automate the research process.
For instance, upon uploading the Matthews family GEDCOM file to Ancestry.com, you’ll see the family hierarchy. Ancestry indicates record hints with a green leaf icon at the top right corner of relevant individuals. With access to 60 billion records, Ancestry uses AI and OCR technology to compares this GEDCOM record for the Matthews family to locate potential matches.
In this scenario, Ancestry provides hints for each family member, with 29 hints available for exploration. Ancestry also suggests potential parents for Lucy Matthews, correctly identifying her maiden name as “England.” Lucy was born on June 24th, 1878, in Midleton Co. Cork, to William England and Elizabeth Smith.
As you enrich the Matthews family record on Ancestry, more record hints will surface, including other family trees containing the Matthews lineage. You can even connect with owners of these trees, who may be Matthews family descendants, to exchange stories, photographs, and family history.
Why CREEORE
Who buys our GEDCOM files?
Libraries & Researchers
County Libraries, & Genealogy Research Centres can all save time by accessing custom GEDCOM files for research by location. Then build your own platform one research record at a time.
Writers & Storytellers
Find inspiration for your characters and historic accuracy when writing for blogs, local magazine articles, short stories or novels. Start earning today for content creation. Â
Student Collaboration
Teachers! Engage your Transition year students in local and social history through the lives of those who lived in their home town. Teach students research and story telling skills, then publish!Â
Tourism
Develop local tourism services by finding and reaching out to those with ancestral links to your townlands and towns. Reach out to millions of amateur genealogists worldwide.
A Sense of Place
Local historians and groups can collaborate to preserve the social and personal history of the 19th Century and pass on their knowledge to the next generation.Â
1926 Census
Get ready for the publication of the 1926 Irish Census by having your 1901 & 1911 research done beforehand. Â
Ideal for................
Librarians
Every local library or genealogy research centre should have our GEDCOM files for researchers. Our files will correct many of the spelling errors in the 1901 Census, thereby improving the accuracy of search.
Local Historians
Billions of records, stories and pictures are uploaded to online Genealogy Platforms every year. Upload our GEDCOM files by location to ensure new discoveries never pass you by. Â
Schools
Learn new skills researching historical records and archives. Gain an appreciation for your locality’s social and personal history. Prepare Transition Year research projects for presentation & publication. Â
Content Creators
Bloggers, local journalists, history buffs, and historical societies will be amazed what inspirational records await their discovery. Write their stories and get published.Â
Tour Guides
With 3 million subscribers to Ancestry.com alone, creating 130m family trees, it has never been easier to connect with those whose ancestors once lived locally. Â
Genealogists
Quickly expand your research beyond the family and to the neighbourhood, and create context to the life and times of your family of interest. Â
FOUR STEPS TO STARTING YOUR RESEARCH TODAY
STEP 1
You decide what location in 1901 you wish to start researching. Choose a street, townland or a town. If you want a custom file, contact us for a quote.Â
STEP 2
Purchase the GEDCOM file for that location. A link to download the Gedcom file will be sent to you on payment. You can download it multiple times if required.Â
STEP 3
Download the GEDCOM file to your computer. Then import it to a NEW TREE in your Genealogy programme and/or online to Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast etc.Â
STEP 4
Investigate the hints from Ancestry etc. Add maiden names, link families and become an expert on your location of interest. Write stories and publish them.Â
Frequently Asked Questions
The cheapest GEDCOM file is only €39. Prices vary depending on the size of the file and the number of households per file.
But the cost works out at approximately 20c per record, which will include, surname, forename, age, religion, marital status, occupation, year of birth (based on age), literacy including whether can speak Irish, special illnesses, and connection in the household (head of, wife, child, visitor, boarder etc) A short biography is also provided.
So a file of a town with 2000 inhabitants on Census night would cost about €400 to purchase and download ready to upload in minutes.
We prepare all the files inhouse. We access the 1901 Census Records and then code every individual in a way that links husbands and wives as well as their offspring, so that a GEDCOM file can be created. We test all the files to ensure they can be uploaded correctly.
We also prepare URL links back to the townland or street in the Census Records to make it easier for you to find the record in the Census. This is extremely helpful when checking spellings or finding out was anyone other than family in the household, such as servants, boarders, or visitors, all of whom are included in the GEDCOM file but linked to a family only by address.Â
You can also explore details on the house and outbuildings occupied by the family. Â
Most genealogy researchers, amateur and professional alike, concentrate their research on families.
Our GEDCOM files are by location. By doing all the preparation work for you to create the GEDCOM file, it enables you to utilize the incredible hints and research resources on the likes of Ancestry, MyHeritage, Findmypast etc immediately, saving you valuable time.Â
You can concentrate your valuable time on researching and less time on preparing, knowing that you have a file of all residents on March 31st 1901.Â
Social and local historians, students completing school projects, local history groups, writers submitting articles to local publications, those promoting ancestral tourism, all can benefit from researching the 1901 Census by location.
The magic only happens when the GEDCOM file is imported into a genealogy software programme, thanks to the advanced AI and OCR technology adopted by the large genealogy platforms.Â
Who were your grandparents neighbours? What did they work at, when were the children born, who emigrated and who stayed, how did local families intermarry, what were the economic conditions like, did anybody famous, or infamous, live in the neighbourhood, who would serve or perish in WWI or participate in the 1916 Rising?Â
Can you find your living relatives in Ireland?
We have started to prepare our files for County Kildare which had 64k residents approximately in 1901. New GEDCOM files are uploaded every day.
But if you want us to prepare a GEDCOM file for your special place anywhere in Ireland we can do that on request. Contact us (see below) and we will research how large the file is and send you a quote to prepare it and a date of delivery. Once accepted an a deposit paid, your order will be prioritised.
As a guide, a GEDCOM file will cost about €50 for every 250 people in it.
The 1901 Irish Census is the oldest complete Census for the country. The 1911 Census is also available to search online. These are the only two, but the 1926 Census is due for release in April 2026.
The information recorded in 1901 and 1911 is the same except for the addition in 1911 of a column recording how many years of marriage, how many children the couple had and how many are alive on Census night.Â
We wanted to ensure our files only record an individual once, so the 1901 Census is ideal for that. When you upload the GEDCOM file to a genealogy platform, there will be lots of hints to link the records to the 1911 Census return for the same individuals.Â
The first attempt at a Census in Ireland was made in 1813 but was abandoned. The original census returns for 1861 and 1871 were destroyed shortly after the censuses were taken. Those for 1881 and 1891 were pulped during the First World War, supposedly because of the paper shortage. Strangely the English census records didn’t suffer the same fate.Â
The returns for 1821, 1831, 1841 and 1851 were, apart from a few survivals, notably for a few counties for 1821 and 1831, destroyed in 1922 in the fire at the Public Record Office at the beginning of the Civil War.
Ireland only publishes Census records on their centenary. The 1926 Census was the first one taken by the Irish Free State and will be available to the public in April 2026.Â
Our 1901 GEDCOM files are a perfect starting point to carry out research by location in anticipation of the publication of the 1926 Census.Â
No is the short answer. You should always create a NEW tree when you upload our GEDCOM file.
Our files maintain a numerical sequence for each person that may conflict with your existing family tree file. Â
"For Everything there is a Season"
As I perused the pages of the catalogue for the “Life Goes On” Exhibition by a talented group of multidisciplinary Kildare artists named the Sult Artists Collective, my gaze was ensnared by a painting that whispered to me. It was May of 2022 when the Exhibition was arranged for Bord Na Móna HQ in Newbridge Co. Kildare to mark the centenary of the British army’s final and permanent withdrawal from Naas, Newbridge, The Curragh, and Kildare Town. Determined to be among the first to immerse myself in this commemorative display, I eagerly made my way to the exhibition hall, where I encountered this masterpiece by Mary McGrath that now adorns my collection.
The canvas unfolds a scene of timeless simplicity—a gentleman farmer, resolute and weathered, as he guides a team of sturdy horses through the furrows of his land. Beside him, his young daughter, adorned in a vibrant crimson coat and matching beret, lends her earnest presence to the task at hand. In the distance, a two-story farmhouse stands as a sentinel against the horizon, its details shrouded in the haze of memory. Wisps of chimney smoke hint at domestic tranquility, further echoed by the farmer’s trilby hat and his daughter’s textured attire—a tableau of quiet dignity amidst the rural expanse.
Yet, beyond the mere depiction of agricultural toil, this painting whispers a deeper narrative, one steeped in metaphor and familial legacy. For me, amidst the rhythmic cadence of ploughing, I discern the hand of a teacher and the eager pupil at his side. The field stretches out before them, a vast expanse of time, but its beginning on the left and end on the right are not depicted, and for good reason. With each furrow turn, the farmer, custodian of ancestral wisdom, imparts to his daughter the sacred inheritance of their lineage. We cannot know how many ancestral generations inspired us, nor predict how many future generations will inherit this legacy.Â
For this field is not merely soil and seed; it is the crucible of kinship, where past and future intersect in the delicate dance of tradition. As the farmer treads the fertile ground, he weaves a tapestry of continuity, binding the threads of bygone ancestral eras to the promise of generations yet to come. And in his daughter’s steady stride, I glimpse the shifting sands of time—the transition from past to present, from legacy to destiny.
When they reach the top of the field by the farmhouse, father will turn the team of horses to retrace their steps along the furrowed path. And in that subtle shift, his daughter will move from her father’s right to his left, for she will always walk the verdant pasture of the future. We are witnessing the passage of inheritance. The little girl, now poised on the cusp of tomorrow, walks beside her father, her steps mirroring his own, yet carving a path uniquely her own.
We may never know the fate that awaits this steadfast farmer and his devoted daughter, whether she inherits the land that bore witness to generations past or forge her own destiny beyond its bounds. Yet, in the folds of her crimson coat, I sense a cherished keepsake—a memento of a fleeting moment, immortalized in hues of nostalgia and love. For in this pastoral idyll, amidst the whispering winds of change, a timeless bond is forged—a legacy of family, etched in the furrows of time.
Would you like a GEDCOM file of your special place?
We can create a GEDCOM file for you for any location in Ireland based on either the 1901 or 1911 Census. Tell us what you are looking for and we will research it and return with a quote.Â
EXCELLENT
Based on 18 reviews
Posted on Google![]()
J DaleyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Back in April/May 26 I decided to apply for my Irish passport, found out, I needed to apply to become an Irish citizen before I could apply for the passport. I felt overwhelmed just reading what certificates I needed to obtain, for the application. Decided to search companies that could help me and my first choice was Creeore.com, filled out my details and a Desmond Swan rang me the very next day. All I gave Des initially was 2 names, but I came off the phone feeling really positive and honestly the positivity has grown over the months of dealing with Des and the progress he has made. Des has sent off the application and now it's just a waiting game. Creeore.com took the hard work out of my hands, because I definitely could not have done this without Creeore.com and Desmond Swan, who's very professional, friendly and knows his stuff. I would recommend Creeore.com 101% Thanks Des Jason C.Daley
Owner's reply
Thank you Jason for such a generous review. It has been a real pleasure helping you through the process. I remember our first conversation, when you gave me little more than two names to start with and the whole process of proving your entitlement to Irish citizenship seemed rather daunting. That is exactly where I hope Creeore can make a difference — taking away the worry of working out which certificates and documents are required, researching and obtaining the records, and making sure everything comes together into a properly prepared Foreign Birth Register application. I’m delighted that we have now reached the point where your application has been submitted. As you say, the hard work is done and now comes the waiting game! Thank you also for your kind comments about the professional and personal service you received. I know how important these applications are to people, and it is always very satisfying to help someone prove their Irish ancestry and claim the Irish citizenship their family connection entitles them to. Your 101% recommendation is very much appreciated. Hopefully, before too long, we will be celebrating your Irish citizenship — and then it will be time for that Irish passport! Best wishes, DesPosted on Google![]()
Mark TaylorTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
I found Creeore.com on Google and liked the great reviews. I contacted Des and have since been so very impressed and grateful for his enormous help, great knowledge and his obvious expertise and experience in tracing family history and his ability to put things in context with Irish history. I admit that my initial reason for contacting Des was to see if he could help me apply for Irish citizenship via the Foreign Born Register so I could eventually apply for an Irish Passport. My grandmother was Irish but she died when I was very young, so I never really knew her. I remember three of her siblings well. I knew where I thought she came from which is where my mother often used to speak about visiting. Embarrassingly, I did not know any details to be able to contemplate proceeding with an application on my own. Both of my wife’s parents are Irish so she could apply directly for an Irish passport so I thought why not see if Des could help me. I am so glad I made contact. Within a few days Des confirmed he had found all the details he would need and that he could help me through the process. He applied for all the birth, marriage and death certificates that would be required. I provided other documents and within about a month my application had been fully submitted. What then proved to be a far more enlightening experience was when Des started to investigate and document my grandmother’s ancestry. She had lived where I thought she came from but she was not born there. Des soon corrected my misunderstanding and found the details I would never have known. My grandmother had a number of other siblings I was unaware of in addition to the three I knew. Des found birth, marriage and death certificates, census records, photographs, newspaper articles and maps which make his document so interesting to read and help make the people ‘real’. My grandmother’s parents both had complicated ancestry because their parents had remarried after spouses predeceased them resulting in complex step sibling relationships and emigration to other countries that Des managed to work out and document in detail. My great great grandfather was in the military and my great grandfather followed in his footsteps. Des was able to locate detailed military records showing overseas service and with his knowledge was able to put the detail in historical context. Amazingly, Des managed to trace my family before Irish civil records began and explained how they arrived in Limerick as part of the Anglo-Norman invasion and were very powerful and influential there up until the end of the seventeenth century. Des provided me with links for further reading and research. All this research and documentation took Des a great deal of effort and time and he produced a final fascinating document to read. If you are looking for someone to investigate and document your Irish ancestry, then I highly recommend Creeore.com. If, as I was, you are looking for someone to investigate and help with your application for the Irish Foreign Born Register because you do not have the knowledge then I highly recommend Creeore.com but I would also strongly encourage you to go a step further and ask Des to investigate and properly document your ancestry as he did for me. I am very grateful to you, Des.
Owner's reply
Mark, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a generous and detailed review. I am genuinely delighted that what began as an application for Irish citizenship through the Foreign Birth Register developed into something much more meaningful. Getting your FBR application properly documented and submitted was, of course, the original objective, but I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to then explore the family behind those certificates. Your grandmother's story proved to be very different, and considerably more interesting, than we initially expected. Unravelling the various marriages, step-sibling relationships, emigration and military careers certainly presented a few challenges, but those are often the details that turn a collection of names and dates into the story of a family. One of the most rewarding aspects of genealogy for me is finding the records, photographs, newspaper reports and other pieces of evidence that allow people who died many years ago to become real people again. Your family was a particularly good example of why patience and perseverance can be so important in genealogical research. The breakthrough that eventually enabled me to connect your family much further back came from an obscure reference I found to an old pedigree parchment which, remarkably, was recorded as being in the possession of a member of the family serving in India in 1887. He stated that the pedigree had been given to him by his father before his father left India for Ireland more than twenty years earlier. Following that clue eventually led me to discover that the pedigree itself had been published in an Irish newspaper in 1845 in connection with a family claim that had come before the Rolls Court in London. Finding and piecing together information more than 180 years old like this is one of the reasons I find genealogy so fascinating. A seemingly small reference in one record can open an entirely new avenue of research and, in this case, provided the evidence that allowed me to take your family story back far beyond the surviving Irish civil records and place your ancestors within the much longer history of Limerick and the arrival of the Anglo-Normans. I am especially pleased that you now know so much more about your grandmother and the family she came from. Although you knew her only briefly as a child, you now have a record of her family and their story that can be preserved and passed on to future generations. Thank you again for entrusting me with both your citizenship application and your family history, and for recommending Creeore so warmly. It has been an absolute pleasure carrying out the research for you. Regards DesPosted on Google![]()
jacqui cliveTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
First I would like to thank Desmond. Myself and my cousin and sister had been trying for years to find my dads birth certificate and about my dads family with no luck as he would never speak about his family that was a mystery to us. I came across this site,thought I would give it just one more go to see if we could find out the mystery I send a very brief email and had a call back from Desmond who was just so lovely i gave him the very little information that I had and within an hour he had solved a mystery. It was just amazing the information that Desmond had found for us. Desmond also found my dads birth certificate something we are truly grateful for.
Owner's reply
Thank you for the review Jacqui. You should be all set now. Best of luck. Regards DesPosted on Google![]()
Fiona ReillyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Must admit I found Creeore through Google but glad I did. I was looking to get Irish Citizenship, through descent, and then a Passport, but the process seemed terrifying. Got in touch with Des, gave him some family details and he has sorted everything, including my Sisters who got in touch also. A wonderful man, nothing was too much to do. Kept in touch regularly and our applications are now in. Would highly recommend Creeore.
Owner's reply
Thank you so much, Fiona, for your wonderful review. It was a real pleasure helping you and your sister through the Irish citizenship application process. Applying for Irish citizenship through the Foreign Birth Register can seem overwhelming at first, particularly when so many certificates and supporting documents are required. I'm delighted I was able to make the process straightforward and give you the confidence that everything was prepared correctly before your applications were submitted. Thank you for placing your trust in Creeore and for taking the time to share your experience. I wish you both every success with your applications, and I look forward to hearing the good news when your Irish citizenship certificates arrive. DesPosted on Google![]()
Heidi RobertsTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
We wanted to thank Creeore so much for sending us such a fascinating insight into my great, great grandmother Bridget. Des uncovered news articles and went above and beyond to provide us with background history and information that has been so wonderful to read. I feel like I have been able to step into our great, great grandmothers remarkable world in Ireland, during what was a period of intense and turbulent Irish history. Des has provided us with so many interesting details, such as news articles from that time, that uncovered what an amazing lady our relative was. It’s truly remarkable to have been given such an account of her life and on behalf of myself and my mother, we wanted to say that we are so grateful to Des for taking the time and effort (truly going above and beyond) to send us a whole picture of what life was like for Bridget at that time (Des provided extensive and fascinating background history/family trees) and also newspaper reports from that time to bring Bridget to life for us. Thank you so much Des. We highly recommend Creeore!
Owner's reply
Thank you, Heidi, for your wonderful review and your very kind words. Although Bridget was not the original focus of your research project, her presence revealed itself when I discovered the remarkable newspaper interviews she gave later in life as a centenarian. I knew immediately that her story deserved to be told and, more importantly, passed on to her family. Bringing together her own memories with the history that surrounded her allowed me to paint a fuller picture of the woman she was. As genealogists, we spend much of our time uncovering names, dates and relationships. Every so often, however, we are fortunate enough to discover an ancestor's own voice. Bridget's recollections of the Great Famine, her thoughts on education and her reflections on life allow her to reach across eighty years and speak directly to her great-great-grandchildren. Reading her words today, it is almost as though she is sitting beside you, sharing the experiences and wisdom of her remarkable life that began in Wicklow in 1842. Thank you again for allowing me to help reconnect your family with such an extraordinary woman. It was a privilege to bring Bridget's story back to life.Posted on Google![]()
Richard FordTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Des provided some very detailed information gleaned from old records in Scotland also providing scans of the copies. I'm very happy to recommend his expertise to anyone carrying out research into family heritage, etc.
Owner's reply
Thank you for the 5 star review Richard. It was a very interesting research project, and to reveal the sources of the musical and singing genes you've inherited was an unexpected surprise.Posted on Google![]()
Adelle HickeyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
Talking to Des was just so interesting. He was so helpful with putting the correct details and information together. His knowledge on this subject matter is more than impressive. He was such a fantastic help. Adelle Hickey
Owner's reply
Thank you Adelle for your kind words. It was great to find your Kildare ancestors and assist you on your voyage of discovery. Enjoy your journey.Posted on Google![]()
Kate AstleyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
My application has been managed in a highly professional and person centred way, It has been fascinating to explore my late mother’s family and to add my own knowledge to that to complete a full picture. The service I received has been very efficient and I highly recommend them to others.
Owner's reply
Thank you Kate. It was a very interesting search and I was delighted to be able to find your Irish ancestors as I knew it meant so much to you to honour your late mother's memory.Posted on Google![]()
Josie NormanTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.
I am so pleased that Creeore took on my application for Irish citizenship Without their help I would not have had made the application, the effort and research they did on my behalf was amazing I cannot thank them enough.
Owner's reply
Thank you Josie. It was a privilage to research and find your Irish ancestors, and then assist you to submit your application for citizenship to the Foreign Birth Register. I look forward to the greeting you as a fellow Irish citizen soon!Verified by TrustindexTrustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more