The 1766 religious census can arguably be viewed as 'Ireland's first census'. In response to a call from the House of Lords Church of Ireland clergymen were required to return a list of householders in their parishes, including the religion of each individual. The Cashel and Emly returns survived the infamous fire in 1922 and are considered some of the best quality returns. In his lecture Dr Brian Gurrin will explain the census, consider how its data may be used for research, and highlight some of the wonderful surviving Tipperary gems. Digitised copies of the returns are now available in the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland.