On Sunday night, the 2nd of April in the year 1911, Britain would send out through the 32 counties of Ireland its enumerators (census takers). This would be the last 32 County Census performed by Britain. There had been a history of census taking going back to 1821, 1831, 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and now - 1911. In each case Britain was asking the following questions of those in each household: your name, age, religion, married or single, if married - how long, how many children/how many children still living, name of the head of the household, do you own the land, what class housing structure do you live in, type of roof, how many windows, could you read or write, and finally if relatives or friends happened to be visiting your home that night - they too were to have many of the same questions asked of them.

We will look at this census from the following point of view - how many Hannon/Hannans lived in each province, county and most important of all - where are you most likely to find your ancestors?

This information comes from the National Archives Of Ireland which completed the digitizing of the 1911 Census at the end of August 2009. By uploading this information to the internet - the full census is now available online to all Irish descendents worldwide. You can visit the NAI website at the following url: National Archives of Ireland - 1911 Census
Let us start with looking at the number of Hannon/Hannans in each of the four provinces. Munster continued to be #1 in total population, continuing a centuries long domination. However, Connacht, had closed the gap coming in #2. As for Leinster and Ulster their numbers were lower and most Hannon/Hannan descendents might find researching in those provinces to be less productive. Connacht province has the most overall population of "Hannon", while Munster province has the most overall "Hannan" population. Other variations of both surnames are represented as "Other".

Around c.300 BC, King Ainninn (son of Umor) led a great gathering of Celts across the Shannon River into both Connacht and Munster provinces. Their migration from Co. Westmeath in Leinster province, left behind a lake once called "Loch Ainninn", which today is now known as Loch Ennel. For this reason we can still find some 22 centuries later many of our ancestors still living in the western lands of their ancient forefathers. However, this census proves that whether or not this point of history was known to them - "36" Hannons and "5" Hannans were back living in the ancient lands of Co. Westmeath.

Three of the "Top 5 Counties" are shared by both Hannons and Hannans -- Sligo, Limerick and Cork. Meanwhile, Galway while 2nd in total county population, remains mostly a 'Hannon' county with '335' persons found (and only '18' Hannans located). We also must not forget that transplantation and normal relocation over the millenniums, brought the Hannon/Hannans to other parts of Ireland where they simply had never before been located. An example of this can be found in Dublin - where some '258' men, women and children were documented by the census takers. Presumably they relocated to Dublin to find work.

In the following graphic showing all 32 counties and the population numbers for each spelling variation, we see counties where '1' or '2' are found. These do not represent family households but rather students attending boarding schools. Also of note is the fact that no 'Hannons' were to be found in Cos. Fermanagh and Longford. No 'Hannans' were to be found in Cos. Louth, Kings and Monaghan. Perhaps even more isolated is the spelling variation 'Hanneen and Haneen' where '25' individuals were to be found ONLY in Co. Limerick. Overall, there were 3,315 individuals living in Ireland on the night of the 1911 Census. After 3 centuries of voluntary and involuntary migration - we should all be proud that so many were found.