{"id":557456,"date":"2026-07-19T12:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/557456\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T12:55:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:55:19","slug":"leafing-through-a-discovered-magazine-from-1966-a-glaring-absence-struck-me-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/557456\/","title":{"rendered":"Leafing through a discovered magazine from 1966 a glaring absence struck me \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

You never know what you are going to find in an antique shop. That\u2019s the joy of it; browsing around a curated lucky dip. So it was that I found myself in Athenry Antiques on Church Street in Co Galway earlier this summer, having a look-see. <\/p>\n

On a table at the back of the shop, there was a tattered magazine: The Irish Times Annual Review of 1966. Actually, only half of a magazine. Of its 100-plus pages referred to in the contents on page one, only 48 still remained. The magazine, \u201cissued free as a supplement to The Irish Times on Jan 2nd 1967\u2033, had eight men in suits on the cover. The main men in the photograph were the then recently resigned taoiseach Se\u00e1n Lemass (with Jack Lynch, who succeeded him in November 1966, standing behind him) and the then British prime minister, Harold Wilson \u201csigning the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Agreement, which came into force on July 1st, 1966\u201d. <\/p>\n

January 2nd, 1967 was a Monday. Then, as now, the paper was not printed on a Sunday. The Annual Review could be purchased after that date for \u201ctwo shillings & sixpence\u201d, the cover stated.<\/p>\n

The price pencilled on the inside cover was \u20ac16, which I considered a bit steep for only around half of the magazine, but the woman behind the counter in the antique shop suggested a tenner instead, which I accepted. We both had a look around to see if the other half was anywhere nearby, but could not locate it.<\/p>\n

Anyway, off I went with my half of a 60-year-old magazine. As readers will know, The Irish Times newspaper archive has been digitised. However, it seems that some supplements, such as this one, were not included in this project. If you look at the digitised paper of January 2nd, 1967, the Annual Review magazine is promoted on the masthead, but the magazine itself is not in the digital archive. So while I only have half of it, that half turns out to be a rare insight into what this newspaper thought was worth including in its assessment of the year 1966. <\/p>\n

When I leafed through it, I was struck at once by the complete absence of women. Every byline is male: Michael McInerney, Political Correspondent; Wesley Boyd, Diplomatic Correspondent; William Hamilton; Tom McCaughren, Defence Correspondent; Garret FitzGerald; Patrick Nolan, Industrial Correspondent; John F O\u2019Mahony; Michael J Harrington; Hugh O\u2019Neill, Financial Editor; John Horgan, Education Correspondent. <\/p>\n

Every photograph that featured people is of men. The sole exception – how I guffawed hollowly – is on page 23. It\u2019s a full page ad for The Irish Times itself, \u201cIreland\u2019s leading opinion-forming newspaper\u201d. The ad quotes circulation figures for the previous years, saying circulation went up by 2.3 per cent in 1965 and 8.3 per cent in 1966. \u201cIts comprehensive financial section makes The Irish Times of special interest to business men,\u201d the ad states. Presumably \u201cbusiness women\u201d were not a thing back then.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Dublin council to commission new monument honouring women of Ireland\u2019s revolutionOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In the accompanying image are four serious-looking men. One is smoking.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Irish Times Annual Review 1966. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times \"OfOf the annual review’s advertised 100-plus pages referred to in the contents on page one, only 48 still remained. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

\"'Here‘Here we see the sole picture of a woman in the 48 pages I had: the face of a smiling blonde woman on the front page, looking like the prop she was to the quartet of testosterone surrounding her.’ Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times <\/p>\n

Another wears a tweed jacket. They are all frowning. They are gathered around a copy of The Irish Times. And here we see the sole picture of a woman in the 48 pages I had: the face of a smiling blonde woman on the front page, looking like the prop she was to the quartet of testosterone surrounding her. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a list of the government of the time – again, not a woman among them. Lynch was taoiseach. CJ Haughey was minister for finance. Erskine Childers was minister for transport and power, as well as posts and telegraphs. Brian Lenihan was minister for justice; Neil Blaney was agriculture; George Colley industry and commerce. The inspirational TK Whitaker was secretary for the Department of Finance, under Haughey. <\/p>\n

The Seanad had just a handful of women among its numbers. \u201cMiss Mary F Davidson\u201d; a Labour Party politician. She was the first woman general secretary of any Irish political party. I sincerely hope someone interviewed her at the time about the experience. Listed among the taoiseach\u2019s nominees to the Seanad are M\u00e1ighr\u00e9ad M Nic Phairais; Mrs Kit Ahearn and Mrs Nora Connolly-O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n

\"Photograph:Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

To tell you the truth, at this stage of my perusal of events of 60 years ago, I was a bit slack-jawed at the reminder of an era where the patriarchy truly ruled Ireland. <\/p>\n

Garret FitzGerald, then a member of the Seanad, wrote the main article in the Business and Finance section, titled A Year of Deflation. The year 1966, he wrote, was the year the \u201cgrowth of the Irish economy came to a halt\u201d. <\/p>\n

One reason for this, FitzGerald wrote, was \u201cthe disappointing performance of exports. The Department of Finance had expected a rise of about \u00a326 million\u201d. Instead, it was \u00a311.5 million. He put this down to \u201cthe unfavourable market situation for cattle in Britain, and something also perhaps to do with the depressed condition of the British economy in general\u201d. The word \u201cstagnation\u201d was repeated frequently.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Femina Culpa celebrates ordinary women in history accused of terrible deedsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Fast forward 60 years, and according to the CSO<\/a>\u2019s preliminary figures in February of this year, the value of Ireland\u2019s exports in 2025 was \u20ac260.3 billion, up \u20ac36.6 billion from the previous year. <\/p>\n

In the article on Labour relations, the many strikes and industrial disputes in 1966 were referred to. \u201cA bank strike involving the whole country began on May 6th.\u201d Some 8,000 bank officials went on strike. When did it end? \u201cJuly 30th.\u201d There was an 18-week strike at three paper mills, in Waterford, Clondalkin, and Killeen. \u201cOver 1,250 workers were involved and the main issue was whether four-shift working, involving continuous operations over weekends, should be introduced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photograph:Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

The deep-sea section of Dublin Port was closed for five weeks due to a strike by 1,000 dockers. Then 800 members of the National Busmen\u2019s Union went on strike and \u201ckept all the buses idle\u201d for one-day periods over several weeks that summer. One hundred mechanical fitters at ESB generating stations around the country went on strike between April 30th to June 22nd, and \u201cthrew the country into chaos, power failing totally in many areas\u201d. <\/p>\n

Then there are the ads, offering a fascinating social history insight into a bygone era. There\u2019s a full page ad for Jacob\u2019s Biscuits, which features a picture of an expanse of ocean, rather than any actual biscuits, nor even a mention of any of their names. \u201cNew industry keeps our young people at home and attracts the return of those abroad.\u201d Jacob\u2019s, the ad states, was \u201ccreating biscuits of such superior quality that Irish homes find little need for imported products that strain our national balance of payments\u201d.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a clear message running through all the ads that it was patriotic to buy Irish. \u201cMake a New Year Resolution to ask for Irish Quality Goods,\u201d runs an ad vaguely titled \u201cMake Ireland Strong\u201d. \u201cYou command the spending power to make Ireland strong. This is the challenge for 1967.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"'Behind‘Behind every enterprising businessman…’
\nPhotograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

Another ad for Hibernian Insurance begins: \u201cA wind of change has blown over Ireland. The hum of the conveyor belt has replaced the sentimental strains of the harp… But development is costly… So when you take out a policy with the Hibernian, it\u2019s more than just an insurance cover. It\u2019s an investment in the future of your country.\u201d<\/p>\n

An ad for McHugh Himself on Talbot Street, said: \u201cIf it\u2019s Irish – put it in the parlour. That\u2019s exactly where your new radio or television belongs. It deserves the best place in the house. It\u2019s no longer a foreign thought to think Irish.\u201d The ad says that McHugh Himself sells \u201cfine models\u201d of \u201cIrish assembled\u201d radios and televisions.<\/p>\n

\"'Life‘Life assurance, or the little ploy the businessman forgot…’ Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

There are, of course, many ads for cigarettes. The Player & Wills ad says: \u201cMany years of experience, a fund of research, the most modern manufacturing techniques – these all ensure that products of the highest quality are available to the Irish smoker.\u201d Since 2000, ads in Irish newspapers promoting the sale of cigarettes have been banned. <\/p>\n

As for interest rates, look back and weep. Julian S Hodge (Ireland) Merchant Bankers were offering 8.5 per cent interest per annum on deposit accounts. (Hodge, whose mother was Irish, died in Jersey aged 99 in 2004, worth \u00a348 million.) <\/p>\n

A colleague tells me that the paper stopped publishing this particular magazine in the early 1970s. As I wrote at the start, I only found half of the Annual Review for 1966, which ended at page 48. Therefore, sadly, I don\u2019t know what it had to say about \u201cBloodstock\u201d, \u201cThe Property Market\u201d, \u201cPopulation\u201d, \u201cTourism\u201d, \u201cState sponsored companies\u201d, \u201cNew Industries\u201d, \u201cFarmer unrest\u201d, or something grimly titled, \u201cCattle trade disaster\u201d. <\/p>\n

As for \u201cThe arts\u201d, and \u201cThe year in sport\u201d, which were the final articles in the Review, they were both bundled dismissively together at the back under the heading of \u201cOther Information\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"'A‘A lot of what happens here depends on what is sold here.’ There’s a clear message running through all the ads that it was patriotic to buy Irish. Photograph: Alan Betson\/The Irish Times<\/p>\n

If anyone out there still has a full copy of this magazine, I would be most intrigued to see it. If only for the hope that there might even be some – even one – contribution, or stand-alone image, of a woman somewhere in it.<\/p>\n

rosita.boland@irishtimes.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You never know what you are going to find in an antique shop. That\u2019s the joy of it;…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,14787,61,60,84498,976],"class_list":["post-557456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-central-statistics-office","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-the-irish-times","tag-weekendreview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}