Nine families with same name make for postal chaos
John Carlin decided to act after he got a hefty bill that didn't belong to him
Wednesday August 27 2008
A RURAL community is devising its own system to help the postman distinguish between nine families that share the same surname.
In the small Donegal townland of Ballinacor near Crossroads, Killygordon, live nine Carlin families, including four men called John Carlin.
Finally reaching the end of his tether after receiving a bill which was not for him, John J Carlin approached the local community group, Crossroads and Killygordon Enterprise (CAKE), to ask if they could find a solution to the Carlin problem.
He has lived in Ballinacor all his life and is delighted that the CAKE committee is now working on a system to ensure that each house in the townland will have its own unique number.
A similar project was pioneered by the nearby Meenreagh Development Association, in an area where most of the residents shared the Gallen surname.
Terrible
He explained the confusion in Ballinacor which has become a great annoyance to the four Johns, including John 'the rate' Carlin, his grandson Johnny, his neighbour John and of course John J himself.
"I used to be the only John Carlin in the townland now the place is full of them," he explained.
"It's terrible, especially when a new postman comes on the route. The whole thing goes haywire.
He said the situation came to a head recently when a large bill arrived in the post from a local company which supplies home heating oil.
But John J is a stick and turf man and doesn't even have an oil tank.
"A similar numbering system was done very successfully in Meenreagh where there was a similar problem," he added.
"Hopefully CAKE will sort it out for us before Christmas.
"And I don't care what number I get on my door, any number will do me," he concluded.
Chairman of CAKE Maxi McCreary said the committee was currently working on a system which will see every house in Ballinacor with its own number.
A spokesman for An Post said he was unaware of any similar scheme being promoted by a community group in Ireland.
"There is no such scheme that An Post is aware of, but we will certainly co-operate with any community group who wishes to put numbers or names on houses as this would help speed up our operation," the spokesman said.
- Anita Guidera
