2021: The Chance to Leave a Lasting Legacy

Sunday 18th April 2021 marks a milestone in the bureaucratic calendar. The new census will document the dates, names and lives of Ireland as it enters the new ‘roaring 20s'.

The extra significance of this census in particular has reached the news with reports of the new 'time capsule feature'. For the first time a message can be written by the individual, a personal comment or reflection on the world around them.

My first reaction as a historian, as a genealogist, is one of jealousy. Imagine the sheer wealth of information and joyous discoveries of ancestors if this had been a long standing feature in decades gone by! But alas, the use of the census as economic tools rather than nostalgic snapshots (not to mention the obvious issue of the widespread illiteracy in my own family tree), leaves our 19th and 20th century censuses empty of these thoughts. Instead, we read between the lines of the document to try and gain a better understanding of our forefathers and foremothers.

My second reaction, again perhaps highlighting a pessimistic and sadistic view of genealogy, is sympathy for the poor future genealogist faced with transcribing these time capsules in 100 years time! The amazing future worth of the time capsule project cannot be understated. In a time of political, economic and environmental uncertainty the importance of the opportunity to speak your voice is enviable and historically has only been a luxury of the few.

We as historians, genealogists, grand-daughters and grand-sons scan our records for hints of the lives of our ancestors in an attempt to understand them. So now the thinking begins, what will your future message be?

Will Goodbody (2019) '2021 census will include 'time capsule' feature' https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0710/1061251-census/?fbclid=IwAR3uqgVWJgg9Yv9rt5shNpWhYNKyXjrgOKKAJdzoEgBB-Rf3EqL5pPjeTuQ [accessed on 22nd July 2019]