The History of the Postmarks of the British Isles from 1840 to 1876 - John Hendy (1909)

9° THE POSTMARKS OF THE BRITISH ISLES FROM mO.
Application had at various times been made for postal accommodation in the island
of Arran, off the coast of Galway, but the limited amount of correspondence prevented
the Post Office from incurring the expense attending the establishment of a regular boat
service between the mainland and the island.
In 1858 an arrangement was made with
the owners of the principal boats plying between Galway and Arran, by which a gratuity
of one halfpenny was paid to them for each letter conveyed in the mail, and an ofifice
was established on the island for the first time. Fig. 570 shows the type of postmark
then introduced.
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Fig. 610.
Achill or Eagle Island, on the west coast of Ireland, is separated from the mainland
by a narrow channel. The island is about thirty miles in circumference, and in 1841 had
a purely Irish-speaking population of 5277. It is very mountainous, and eagles breed
in its inaccessible fastnesses. A post, which it was claimed would check smugghng and
illicit distillation, was established in the year 1843 between Newport, Co. Mayo, on the
mainland, and Dugort, the principal town in the island, distant twenty-eight miles. The
mails were conveyed by car to the sound, from thence by boat to Achill, and then by car
to Dugort. This was a three-day post, until July, 1872, when it was increased to six
days a week. Figs. 571, 572 are types of the postmarks.
ACH/LL^OUND
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Fig. 672.
On the i6th July, 1849, two new services were established with Belfast, one between
Belfast and Greenock, and the other between Belfast and Fleetwood. The former
service, which was established on account of the abolition of the Port Patrick and
Donaghadee packets, was performed free of expense, but for the latter the owners were
paid a gratuity of 2s. 6d. per 100 letters. Loose letters posted on board the steamers
were impressed with marks such as Figs. 573, 574.
Fig. 573. Fig. 6V4.
In the case of almost all the islands, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of
Man, the expenditure on the mail service largely exceeded the revenue. This expenditure
reached its highest point in the case of the islands lying off the north and west