History counts

IT’S a pity that neither President Barack Obama nor Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will be on southern Irish soil until next month.

If either of them had decided to risk April showers and come next weekend they would have stood a good chance of being included in the 2011 census for the Republic of Ireland.

By law, anyone staying overnight on Sunday must be included on the Census. Like all residents of the Republic on that night, they will have to complete a detailed form that includes questions on gender, marital status and religion.