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Deaths

3.7 Deaths and death rates, 1916 and 20141
 per 1,000 population per 1,000 population
Area19162014
Total deathsDeath rateTotal deathsDeath rate
Ireland50,62716.129,0956.3
     
Leinster20,97718.114,5615.8
     
Carlow57916.03636.6
Dublin City7,24123.84,0357.8
Dublin County2,60015.13,5774.7
Kildare1,02315.49264.4
Kilkenny1,20516.15555.8
Laois90716.64365.3
Longford74817.12556.4
Louth1,09417.27245.8
Meath1,05116.18774.7
Offaly85915.14445.7
Westmeath91715.36006.9
Wexford1,83517.99946.8
Wicklow91815.17755.6
     
Munster15,91115.48,7347.0
     
Clare1,32712.77976.8
Cork6,24215.93,3786.5
Kerry2,00312.51,1518.0
Limerick2,50617.51,4017.3
Tipperary North97215.55607.8
Tipperary South1,46416.36237.0
Waterford1,39716.68247.2
     
Connacht8,24013.53,7857.0
     
Galway2,57514.11,5026.1
Leitrim81812.92407.4
Mayo2,44212.71,0658.1
Roscommon1,22013.04907.6
Sligo1,18515.04887.5
     
Ulster (part of)5,49916.62,0156.8
     
Cavan1,47016.15026.8
Donegal2,76716.41,0836.7
Monaghan1,26217.74307.0
Source: Registrar-General Annual Report for 1916, Vital Statistics CSO
1 Data for 2014 is provisional.
  • The number of deaths per 1,000 of the population was 16.1 in 1916, two and half times higher than the death rate of 6.3 in 2014.
  • The death rate in 1916 varied widely across the country with the lowest rates of 13 or below in Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Leitrim and Roscommon.
  • The highest death rate by far in 1916 was in Dublin City at 23.8.
  • By 2014 there was a much smaller variation in the death rate across the country. The highest rate was in Mayo at 8.1 deaths per 1,000 of the population followed by Kerry at 8 and Dublin City and North Tipperary at 7.8.
  • Kildare, Meath and Dublin County had death rates of less than 5 in 2014. This variation in the death rate in 2014 reflects the younger population in the counties around Dublin and the older population in western counties.
3.8 Deaths by cause, 1916
 
AreaInfectious diseases & influenzaTBCancerHeart diseasesPregnancy relatedViolent deathsBronchitis & pneumoniaOtherTotal deaths
Ireland2,0926,4712,6795,3733721,6166,70825,31650,627
           
Leinster8342,9411,1962,2361189352,9879,73020,977
          
Carlow3076288171457286579
Dublin City2991,067388635395391,3282,9467,241
Dublin County1115771893167973409632,600
Kildare30134671324311245011,023
Kilkenny681335813414281386321,205
Laois28107329562596518907
Longford4558254032582470748
Louth32104841077341365901,094
Meath26134621573321245131,051
Offaly34115507192297461859
Westmeath2310559102424119481917
Wexford542309824513362449151,835
Wicklow5410156121228102454918
          
Munster5632,1258131,9471203961,9877,96015,911
          
Clare30158581359191467721,327
Cork204911358849471738212,8796,242
Kerry452807919420442301,1112,003
Limerick1273129727027513451,2772,506
Tipperary North4010453113527108522972
Tipperary South46183852324421717011,464
Waterford71177831548401666981,397
          
Connacht319914368613851731,0254,7438,240
          
Galway8233512221631632891,4372,575
Leitrim36704062518142445818
Mayo1062669115829483351,4092,442
Roscommon271185310112261447391,220
Sligo6812562768181157131,185
          
Ulster (part of)376491302577491127092,8835,499
          
Cavan70106851869222097831,470
Donegal24329714524136653161,4242,767
Monaghan6388721504251846761,262
Source: Registrar-General Annual Report for 1916

Funeral procession passing through Berkeley Street Dublin circa 1904

Photo: Funeral procession passing through Berkeley Street Dublin circa 1904

  • There were 50,627 deaths in 1916 in Ireland which gave a death rate of 16.1 per 1,000 of the population (when the population in 1911 was 3.1 million).
  • In 2014, the population had increased to over 4.6 million but the number of deaths had fallen sharply to just 29,095, giving a death rate of 6.3, (for details on deaths in 2014 see Table 3.9).
  • About one in eight deaths in 1916 was due to bronchitis and pneumonia which killed 6,708 people with another one in eight deaths caused by tuberculosis (or TB) which killed 6,471 people.
  • Heart disease was identified as the cause of death for 5,373 people while cancer caused 2,679 deaths. Infectious diseases (such as measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough, diphtheria) and influenza killed 2,092 people. 
3.9 Deaths by cause, 20141
 
AreaMalignant NeoplasmsDiseases of the Circulatory systemDiseases of the Respiratory systemExternal causesAll other causesTotal deaths
Ireland8,8808,8993,3881,5606,36829,095
       
Leinster4,5714,2711,6907733,25614,561
       
Carlow119108362575363
Dublin City1,2261,1984552199374,035
Dublin County1,1869553861898613,577
Kildare27329311954187926
Kilkenny1721666722128555
Laois123152531296436
Longford7669441353255
Louth2351888548168724
Meath27326311546180877
Offaly136150512186444
Westmeath1742066330127600
Wexford33329512359184994
Wicklow2452289335174775
       
Munster2,6082,7979794721,8788,734
       
Clare23625710535164797
Cork9731,0883512087583,378
Kerry323389123562601,151
Limerick409457168822851,401
Tipperary North1731855232118560
Tipperary South1851838831136623
Waterford3092389228157824
        
Connacht1,1321,1704642098103,785
       
Galway465457176893151,502
Leitrim6778281552240
Mayo313318134572431,065
Roscommon1531545923101490
Sligo134163672599488
       
Ulster (part of)5696612551064242,015
       
Cavan1401675236107502
Donegal318353149442191,083
Monaghan111141542698430
Source: Vital Statistics, CSO
1 Data is provisional.
  • There were 29,095 deaths in Ireland in 2014 giving a death rate of 6.3 deaths per 1,000 population.
  • Three out of ten of all deaths were due to diseases of the circulatory system, which caused 8,899 deaths. These diseases cover heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
  • A further three out of ten of all deaths were due to malignant neoplasms (cancer) which caused 8,880 deaths. Diseases of the respiratory system accounted for 3,388 deaths, or just over one in ten deaths.
3.10 Cause of death, 1916 and 2014
 
Cause of death1916 Cause of death2014
Total deaths50,627 Total deaths:29,095
of which:  of which: 
Measles218 Measles0
Scarlet fever184 Scarlet fever0
Whooping cough525 Whooping cough0
Diptheria200 Diptheria0
Influenza712 Influenza27
Tuberculosis6,471 Tuberculosis25
Carcinoma, Sarcoma, Cancer, Malignant Disease2,679 Malignant neoplasms8,880
Diabetes239 Diabetes474
Meningitis and Encephalitis446 Meningitis7
Heart disease5,373 Heart diseases5,779
Bronchitis4,164 Bronchitis22
Pneumonia2,544 Pneumonia965
Accidents of pregnancy and chidbirth, puerperal septic diseases372 Complications of pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium2
Homicide24 Homicide31
Suicide68 Suicide459
Execution4 Execution0
Other violent deaths1,520 Other external causes of injury and poisoning1,070
Source: Registrar-General Annual Report for 1916, Vital Statistics CSO
1 Data for 2014 is provisional.    

This table compares causes of deaths where the classifications are similar in 1916 and 2014 but caution should be exercised in looking at these comparisons given that the classifications systems used for cause of death have radically altered between 1916 and 2014.

However even with this very important caveat some comparisons are possible.

  • Diseases such as measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough and diphtheria caused hundreds of deaths in 1916 but there no deaths from these causes in 2014.
  • Tuberculosis (TB) caused 6,471 deaths in 1916 but just 25 in 2014.
  • Malignant diseases (cancer) caused 2,679 deaths in 1916 but this had increased to 8,880 by 2014. There are probably several reasons for this increase including that people are living longer in 2014 and therefore have a longer life during which cancer can develop as well as improved diagnosis.
  • There were 239 deaths identified as being from diabetes in 1916 and this had increased to 474 in 2014.
  • The figures for bronchitis and pneumonia are very stark - 6,708 people died from these conditions in 1916 compared to less than 1,000 in 2014.
  • Pregnancy and childbirth claimed the lives of 372 women in 1916 but his number had dropped to 2 by 2014.
  • There were 68 deaths by suicide in 1916 compared to 459 in 2014 but part of this increase is likely to be linked to the more comprehensive reporting of suicide as a cause of death today compared with 100 years ago.
3.11 Deaths by age group, 1916 and 2014
 number %
Age group19162014 19162014
Under 15,271249 10.40.9
1-42,86938 5.70.1
5-141,84756 3.60.2
15-242,724202 5.40.7
25-342,983419 5.91.4
35-443,557663 7.02.3
45-543,8981,383 7.74.8
55-645,3032,816 10.59.7
65-749,7155,217 19.217.9
75-849,3438,513 18.529.3
85 and over3,1179,539 6.232.8
Total deaths50,62729,095 100.0100.0
Source: Registrar-General Annual Report for 1916, Vital Statistics CSO
1 Data for 2014 is provisional.
  • Most deaths in 2014 occurred in older age groups, with 80% of all deaths occurring in those aged 65 and over.
  • In contrast, deaths in 1916 were spread more evenly across all age groups. Just over 10% of all deaths in 1916 were to babies under 12 months of age while nearly 10% of all deaths were to children between the ages of 1 and 14. Thus one in five deaths in 1916 occurred to a child under 15 years of age.
  • Young adults aged between 15 and 34 accounted for just over 11% of all deaths in 1916 while those aged between 35 and 54 accounted for nearly 15% of all deaths.
19162014
Under 15271249
1-4286938
5-14184756
15-242724202
25-342983419
35-443557663
45-5438981383
55-6453032816
65-7497155217
75-8493438513
85 and over31179539
3.12 Life expectancy by age, 1911 and 2011
 years
AgeMaleFemaleIncrease in life expectancy
 1911201119112011MalesFemales
053.678.354.182.724.728.6
1549.263.749.468.114.518.7
2541.054.141.458.213.116.8
3533.544.633.848.411.114.6
4525.935.126.438.79.212.3
5518.926.019.229.47.110.2
6513.017.613.420.64.67.2
758.010.68.212.72.64.5
Source: Irish Life Tables, CSO

Children Co. Dublin

Photo: Children Co. Dublin

  • Life expectancy has risen strongly since 1911 for all age groups, with the greatest increases for younger age groups.
  • A baby boy born in 2011 can expect to live for nearly 25 more years than a baby boy born in 1911, with life expectancy at birth increasing for males from 53.6 years to 78.3 years between 1911 and 2011.
  • A baby girl born in 2011 can expect to have an extra 28.6 years of life compared to a girl born in 1911, with life expectancy at birth increasing for females from 54.1 years to 82.7 years over this time period.
  • Life expectancy for boys aged 15 increased by 14.5 years over the last 100 years while girls of this age gained an extra 18.7 years in life expectancy.
  • A man of 65 in 1911 had an average further 13 years of life remaining and 100 years later this life expectancy was 17.6 years, a gain of 4.6 years. The improvement for women at age 65 was higher, with a gain of an extra 7.2 years in life expectancy over the last 100 years. Thus a woman aged 65 in 1911 could expect to live for 13.4 more years but by 2011 her life expectancy was over 20 years.
Males 1911Females 1911Males 2011Females 2011
Age 053.654.178.382.7
Age 1549.249.463.768.1
Age 4525.926.435.138.7
Age 651313.417.620.6

 

 

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