Red scare
Alison Healy
A Chinese advertisement for vacuum flasks prompted a complaint about "Red propaganda" to the Government in 1971.
The joint secretaries of the Irish Housewives Association wrote to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, enclosing the advertisement, according to files released in the National Archives.
"The person who drew our attention to it felt that it was Red propaganda. We wonder if you are aware of this and, if not, whether some action should be taken?" Mrs Moira Guiney and Mrs Molly Cranny inquired.
The advertisement, for the new brand of Sunflower vacuum flasks, said the old brands of flasks had been "used to propagate poisonous feudalism and capitalism".
Millions upon millions of Chinese people had decided to adopt the new brand of "Sunflower" for all Shanghai vacuum flasks, because of their "warm love towards our great leader Chairman Mao", the advertisement stated.
The letter was referred to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
An official replied to the women, telling them that the Government had no relations with the Chinese Government and "it is regretted that there is no action which the Department could usefully take in this matter".