‘A man of simple tastes’ Longford’s John Pat McNaboe is a Census 1926 Centenarian Ambassador

To coincide with the historic release of the 1926 Census of Population records last Saturday, the National Archives of Ireland announced 48 ‘Centenarian Ambassadors’ and among them was John Pat McNaboe of Rossduff, Aughnacliffe, Co Longford.

John Pat recently celebrated his one hundredth birthday on St Patrick’s day at his new residence in Westmeath with family, friends, music provided by a ceili band and dancing involving the man himself. 

The ambassadors have been chosen from almost 100 people who were alive at the time the census was taken in 1926 and who contacted the National Archives. 

The selected ambassadors were born between 1920 and 1926, and today live all over Ireland, from Donegal to Waterford, and from Dublin to Galway. 

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There are also Centenarian Ambassadors representing the Irish diaspora living today in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia. 

The programme has captured the first-hand personal testimony of each of the Ambassadors, which offers a unique, living perspective on the past century of Irish life. These testimonies will be held by the National Archives as a permanent link to the past. 

Ambassador video and photo stories will also be used in association with Census 1926 activities around the country, while each Ambassador has also been presented with a specially-designed commemorative mug and certificate.

John Pat McNaboe was born in 1926 on a small farm in Rossduff, where he was to live for the next 95 years, John Pat was a hard working countryman all his life, starting off labouring on a local farm for two shillings a week, then inheriting his parents’ land and making a living from his livestock, though without any of the technology taken for granted today.  

The farm, indeed, became a hub of local life as his brother Michael was a shoemaker and people were always dropping in for a chat. 

A man of simple tastes, wit and wisdom, he is the last surviving member of a family of nine children, but has lost none of his deep faith, humour or strength of character. 

The National Archives made the entire 1926 census freely available and fully searchable on www.nationalarchives.ie last Saturday. 

The newly released records provide an unprecedented resource, allowing users to efficiently navigate detailed household returns from 1926.

The preparation of the 1926 Census for public release has been a major project for the National Archives and the State, supported by a €5 million Government investment. 

Also read: Congratulations: Longford man celebrates centenary milestone with St Patrick's Day party

The initiative, which took almost three years, saw the careful conservation, preservation, high-resolution digitisation, and transcription of over 750,000 individual household and enumerator returns.