From IrishHeritageNews.ie:

In August, Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI), the sole accrediting body for professional genealogists on the island of Ireland, published the first in a new series of easy-to-follow guides on Irish census records. The aim is to help family history researchers navigate Ireland’s unique census challenges.

“Introduction to the Irish census: a guide for family history researchers” outlines the history of Ireland’s censuses from 1813 to 1926, explaining which records survive and where they can be accessed. It also addresses the major losses that make Irish census research unusually difficult, including the destruction of records in the 1922 Public Record Office fire and the deliberate government policy of destroying many earlier census returns.

The full guide from AGI is available to download free of charge here.