Package holidays in 1916: When popular words first appeared in the paper

Vegan did not appear again until March 1980 when an article about the trend for ‘food fads’ said: “Most vegans and vegetarians have learned to manage perfectly well and stay healthy [without animal protein]”.

Avocado: 1913 and 1968

Avocado was the name of a horse in the early 1900s, so the word was first used on Wednesday, May 8, 1913, in relation to a steed owned by R Farquaharson who regularly appeared in the “Programmes” section of the newspaper for several years.

It made its first appearance as a food stuff in May 1968 with a very dull recipe for half an avocado, dressed with vinaigrette and served on a single lettuce leaf. Delicious avocado toast this was not.

Diet Coke: March 1983

Launched in Ireland in Spring 1983, Diet Coke quickly became one of the fastest growing soft drink brands in Ireland. It’s arrival in Ireland, as reported on in the Irish Examiner in March 1983, was notable for being the first national launch outside of the USA.

Quarantine: December 1841

We’ve grown very used to the word quarantine over the last year and a half, but the first mention of the word was in an article about Quarantine Harbour in Odessa, Ukraine which was notorious for its harsh conditions. Major epidemics of the bubonic plague had occurred that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people across Europe and so the crew of every foreign vessel that passed through Odessa was forced to endure a period of confinement inside the city’s quarantine prison-like quarantine quarters. A report in in the paper in December 1841 described guards that were armed with loaded muskets who would shoot dead anyone who attempted to escape before they were cleared.

Pandemic: 1903

Another word we’ve become all too familiar with is pandemic and it made its first appearance in April 1903 in an article about the annual meeting of the Cork Fever Hospital. Diphtheria, typhoid fever and smallpox were discussed, and the latest admission numbers were given. Thankfully there were only two cases of smallpox, on “from the country and one from the city” and both recovered well.

Epidemic: early 1900s

Because some issues of the newspaper were destroyed or unsalvageable between 1916-1922 one of the earliest appearances of the word epidemic that could be found online appeared in January 1929 relating to the influenza outbreak of the winter of 1928/1929. It was by no means the first outbreak — the Spanish flu raged through Europe in 1918. The Spanish flu consisted of four waves and many regard it as the historical comparison to today’s pandemic because diagnoses, treatments and vaccines were delayed in both cases

Internet: 1992

Tim Berners Lee changed life as we knew it when he invented the World Wide Web in 1990.

In Ireland, as in other countries, academic networks and information technology businesses led the way in utilising the Internet, mainly to store and archive books. Peter Flynn created Ireland’s first website, and only ninth in the world at the time, while working in University College Cork as reported on in May 1992.

Wifi: 2001

We can’t live without it now, but wifi first appeared in the Examiner in September 2001. We still weren’t sure about the internet though and an article by Tom Hickey revealed that just 135,000 Irish people would be willing to buy something online. 51% of the people surveyed that year by Deloitte and Touche were still unsure about the phenomenon. Fast forward 20 years and things are very different.

Mobile Phone: 1985

The first phone call ever made on a mobile phone in Ireland took place on December 11, 1985 between then-Minister for Communication Jim Mitchel and RTÉ’s Pat Kenny.

The first mention of a new “mobile car telephone” appeared in the Examiner on December 13th that year, in reference to the famous call. EIRCELL was Ireland’s first mobile cellular network founded by Telecom Eireann and eventually acquired by Vodafone in 2001.

Golden Pages: 1968

While we’re at it… Remember when we needed the phone book to find someone’s number? The Irish classified directory was first produced in 1968 and became available online in 1999. Where several million copies of directories were once printed annually, telecommunications regulator ComReg announced in 2020 that the 2019 edition of the phone book would be the last due to the rapidly changing electronic communications market. The Golden Pages made its first appearance in the Examiner on December 11, 1968, in an ad urging business people to sign up.

DVD: 1996

DVDs or Digital Versatile Discs were arrived in the late 90s. There was once a time where a DVD player was one of the most aspirational products for sale in Ireland and sold for around £600.

The first mention of the now extinct DVD was in October 1996 in an article, signifying the end of video and CDs.

Netflix: 2005

And along came Netflix. In 2005, many decided to throw out our DVD players because they were just taking up space and gathering dust with the introduction of Netflix. DVD rental shops also suffered greatly. 

The first mention of Netflix was in May 2005, in an interview with the founder of Screenclick.com who had come across Netflix while working in the US. He took redundancy, moved home and set up an Irish version of the DVD rental site.

Package Holiday: 1916

People have been taking package holidays for over a century! The earliest mention of them appeared in an ad in July 1916 where a bargain trip to the Antrim Coast from Cork would set you back £5.

Jumbo Jet: 1966

While we’re all getting used to the idea of a return to foreign travel, huge planes were still a new phenomenon in the sixties. The earliest mention of the jumbo jet appeared in 1966 following the announcement that American airline Pan Am had bought 25 of the giant planes at a cost of £187 million.

Concorde: September 1973

Concorde, the first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane, was built jointly by aircraft manufacturers in Great Britain and France. The Concorde made its first transatlantic crossing on September 26, 1973, and the first appearance of the word appeared in the paper in 1969 when it stopped traffic as it flew over Paris.

Flip flops: 1969

Although flip flops have been in existence for thousands of years (the earliest recorded use of them is around 4000 BC in Ancient Egypt), their earliest appearance in this paper was in July 1969, in an advertisement for summer footwear for children.

Caravan: July 1936

According to a report, 1936 was a boom year for caravan holidays. That year 150,000 Irish holiday makers enjoyed a caravan holiday. 85 years later, things are eerily similar as Irish holidaymakers embarked on our second summer of staycations.