Donegal had lowest literacy rate in Ireland back in 1911

A horse-drawn reciprocating-blade mower "in action near Malin Head" Ballygorman, Co. Donegal. Photographer: Probably Robert French of Lawrence Photographic Studios, Dublin Date: Late 1890s.

placeholder image — A horse-drawn reciprocating-blade mower "in action near Malin Head" Ballygorman, Co. Donegal. Photographer: Probably Robert French of Lawrence Photographic Studios, Dublin Date: Late 1890s.

The five lowest literacy District Electoral Divisions in 1911 Donegal accounted for a quarter of those ranked in the lowest 20

Newly digitised tables from the Census of Ireland in 1911 and realeased by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have identified Donegal as having, at that time, the lowest literacy rate for any county at 79.4%.

Dublin County, excluding the city centre, was identified as the county with the highest literacy rate at the time with a literacy rate of 96.6%.

Thirteen of the 20 District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) with the lowest literacy rates across the island were in Galway, the highest amount for any county. This was followed by Donegal (5), Kerry (1), and Mayo (1).

The five lowest literacy DED’s ranked areas in 1911 Donegal, accounting for a quarter of those ranked in the lowest 20, were numbered at:

(4) Gortahork DEC, Dunfanaghy Rural District (50%)

(11) Meenacladdy DED, Dunfanaghy Rural district (52.8%)

(16) Cross Roads DED, Dunfanaghy Rural District (59.3%)

(18) Doocharry DED, Glenties Rural District (60%)

(20) Crovehy DED, Glenties Rural District (61.7%)

Eleven of the 20 District Electoral Divisions (DEDs) with the highest literacy rates were located in Leinster, with a further seven were in Belfast City, Antrim, or Down.

Notably, none of the DEDs with the lowest literacy rates were in Leinster.

ABOVE: A map of Ireland from 1911 (source Wikipedia)

Commenting on the publication, Eimear Crowley, CSO Statistician, said: “The CSO has published the second release in our Stories from Census 1911 Series.

“A team of CSO volunteers have worked to unlock Stories from Census 1911 and today’s release looks at literacy levels in Ireland at that time and provides further insights into how people lived in 1911.

“When we are talking about literacy rates at that time, we are referring to someone aged nine years and over who could read. Looking at findings from the release, we observed there were much lower levels of literacy along the Atlantic coast while higher rates of literacy tended to be centred around Tipperary, Dublin and the North East.”