A new postage stamp to be launched today marks the 150th anniversary of the first cable message from Europe to America.
John O’Donoghue, Ceann Comhairle, will carry out the unveiling at a special ceremony on Valentia Island, Co Kerry, at the site where the cable linked to Ireland.
The 82c stamp depicts the two ships, HMS Agamemnon and USS Niagra, that laid the cable connecting Trinity Bay, Newfoundland and Knightstown on Valentia Island.
It was designed by Irish illustrator Vincent Killowry.
The cable was successfully installed on August 1858 by American businessman Cyrus West Field, on his third attempt at a transatlantic communication system.
British Queen Victoria transmitted the first public message to James Buchanan, President of the United States, on the wire.
“The transmission of 99 words took over 16 hours and was the cause of much celebration until it failed some weeks later,” said a spokesman for An Post.
“While the communication was slow it relied on the ability of the telegraph operator to translate the message which was transmitted through Morse Code, a sequence of dots and dashes.”
Field’s first attempt failed in 1857 when the cable snapped around 200 miles from land. With a replacement cable he tried again in June 1858, but a violent storm almost sank the Agamemnon and days later its cable snapped.
“The cable, before it failed, allowed only one transmission at a time and wasn’t replaced until 1866 when a better cable of higher quality was laid,” said the An Post spokesman.
“It wasn’t until the invention, in 1874, of the quadruplex that two messages could be transmitted concurrently.”
The stamp can be purchased at the GPO Philatelic Shop, selected post offices nationwide, from the website www.irishstamps.ie and post offices on Valentia Island.
PA