CENSUS figures and coinage rows, the advent of wireless radio, theatre riots and footnotes in global history — here’s a snapshot of Ireland and the world in days gone by…
Politics, international affairs
In April 1926, a census was held in both parts of Ireland.
The population of the Irish Free State, as it then was, totalled 2,972,000; the population of Northern Ireland was 1,257,000. This was the first census conducted in the newly formed Free State and the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland.
In early 1926, the Dáil proposed a bill to issue Free State coins.
W.B. Yeats was the chairman of the committee that selected the designs, due to be first issued in 1928 — the harp was shown on one side, while on the other, depending on denomination, was a salmon, a hen, a cow, a horse, a hare.
The original idea of having an Irish saint on the reverse side was shelved due to religious sensitivity.
Another consideration for the Dáil was that the coins could have been used in toss-ups in unsuitable surroundings: sports matches, or “arguments between farmers at pig sales”, for instance.
One hundred years ago sensitivities were dramatically different from today. Mind you, some things have remained pretty much a constant.
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