The Postal Orders of Ireland
were issued from 1881 until they were discontinued in late 2001 just before the change over to the euro. The current alternative is the An Post Postal Money Order
which serves an equivalent purpose.
Irish issues of British postal orders
The first postal orders to be issued in Ireland were British postal orders issued on 1 January 1881. At this time, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. This lasted until 1922.
The first Irish postal orders
The first Irish postal orders was a transitional series overprinted on British postal orders. The Irish
inscription 'POST ÓRDÚ ÉIREANN' (IRISH POSTAL ORDER) was overprinted on the inscription 'BRITISH POSTAL ORDER'. This series caused a bit of a stir, as the portrait of King George V
was not overprinted. These were issued from 4 April 1922.
The second series of Irish postal orders
These were also overprinted British postal orders, but the King's portrait was overprinted with this inscription 'RIALTAS SEALADACH NA H-ÉIREANN' (PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND) in 4 lines. The issue of these began in May 1922.
The third series of Irish postal orders
Like the first 2 series, this series was also a series of overprinted British postal orders. The overprinted inscription on the King's portrait was changed to 'SAORSTÁT ÉIREANN 1922' (IRISH FREE STATE 1922). The issue of this series began in January 1924 and ended in January 1928.
The first native Irish Free State postal......