Mullingar (IE)
From Stamps of the World
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act ( Henry VIII 34 ) of 1543, proclaimed Westmeath (which then included Longford which separated in 1586) a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath. The town was originally named Maelblatha, and takes its modern name from a mill noted in the legend of Colman of Mullingar. For more information on the town see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mullingar , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westmeath
Prior to 1922 Ireland issued stamps of Great Britain
GB Era 1840-1922
![]() Detail from 1840 Cover sent from Westmeath Penitentiary, Mullingar (See below) 1d Black Plate 6 State 2 |
![]() In Ireland the original "diamond" shaped numerals were replaced by "English-type" spoon cancels from 1855, i.e. the numeral element was in the form of an oval rather than a diamond. In 1857 these were withdrawn and replaced by "Irish-type" spoons, i.e. the numeral element being changed to the Irish diamond format. In a number of towns there was a gap between the two and they were authorised to use their circular datestamps to cancel stamps as an interim measure. In Mullingar this was between 16th March and 5th April 1857 as seen on this pair of C8s plate 36. |