Historic census data reveals Laois had high literacy rates in 1911

Laois had one of the highest literacy rates in the country in 1911 according to an analysis of historic census data. 

Then called Queens County, 93.4% of the population in the county aged over nine years old could read and write. This means Laois had the eight highest literacy rate in 1911, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
 

Across the county 7% of the population over age 9 were recorded as being illiterate. At the time the population of Queens County was 54,629 and 43,538 said they could read and write in the census. 1,738 people recorded that they could only read and 9,353 said they could only write. 

Inishcaltra South in Co Clare and Lullymore in Co Kildare had the highest literacy rates in Ireland in 1911 with 100 per cent. 
Newly digitised tables from the Census of Ireland, 1911 also identified Dublin County (excluding the city centre) as the county with the highest literacy rate at the time (96.6 per cent).

Lettermore DED in Galway was identified as the DED with one of the lowest literacy rates in 1911 with a literacy rate of 38.8%.

In Queens County the areas that had the lowest literacy rates included Maryborough Rural DED, Mountmellick which had a literacy rate of 75.5% and Aghmacart DED, Abbeyleix Rural District which had a literary rate of 85.3%. 

The CSO's findings come in the second release in their Stories from Census 1911 Series.

The first release in the series looked at valuation and population statistics, giving insights into wealth and poverty in the country at that time.