I loved this diary item in The Times, which highlighted an unfortunate software glitch. With many Irish expats wanting to return to vote in the country’s abortion referendum on 25 May, the Irish government set up a website specifically so that people can check beforehand if they are on the electoral register. An excellent example of municipal forward planning, I’m sure you will agree.
Flaw hits Irish particularly hard
However, it transpires that the software has a fatal flaw that affects the Irish more than most. The site doesn’t recognise any surnames with apostrophes! With no fewer than five surnames starting with an O’ apostrophe among the top ten Irish names[1], this could prove to be a bit of a problem for any Irish people with the surname O’Sullivan (number 3), O’Brien (5), O’Connor (8), O’Neill (9) or O’Reilly (10).
In case you’re wondering, the prefix O’ is almost always Irish and the reason so many Irish names start with O’ apostrophe is because this prefix means “grandson of” (not son of, as is commonly believed). So the name O’Sullivan would mean “Grandson of Sullivan.” Let’s just hope that not many people have a wasted trip.
[1] https://www.irelandbeforeyoudie.com/10-popular-irish-surnames/
