Of the Kilmurrys whose literacy was recorded, 74.7% could both read and write, 3.3% could read but not write, and 22% could do neither. Women came out slightly ahead, 76.6% reading and writing against 72.7% of men. Bear in mind these figures include young children; the census itself only counted people aged nine and over when calculating illiteracy, on the grounds that it was unfair to label a child illiterate before they'd had a chance to learn.