Sir, – I was very pleased to see Peter McIlwaine’s letter (May 23rd). I am sure there are many mistakes in the transcription of the census returns of 1901 and 1911.
In the course of looking through them I found a glaring mistake in the 1911 census, Padraig Mac Piarais was shown as Patrick Henry Pearse. On checking the actual document it was clear that he had shown his name in the Irish form and had actually signed the form Padraig Mac Piarais. Another error was two OKennedy boys in Dublin shown as Corniae Cas and Fergus Lady. The correct names, as could be seen from the actual return, were Cormac Cas and Fergus Tadhg. I reported these errors several times over a year ago.
Eventually I got a phone call from a lady in the Archives. I told her my complaint and was astonished to hear that the transcription was done in India. She also said that due to lack of funds little could be done to rectify the faults. On checking this morning, I see that Patrick Henry Pearse has been removed but the correct name has not been entered. The incorrect OKennedy names are still there.
I am afraid that the same problems also arise with the transcription of names from the church records. I reported a mistake in my grandfather’s baptism record, but nothing has been done to correct it. Surely, given all the unemployed graduates in Ireland, some could be employed on a temporary basis and at a reasonable salary to correct the mistakes that have been reported by myself and, I am sure, many others. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN P O CINNEIDE,
Essenwood Road, Durban,
South Africa.