ABCs of Irish Philately - Forerunners

While forerunners refers a group of stamp-like labels of political interest that were printed around the time of the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, the name suggest these are predecessors of the first postage stamps but this is not the case. The Irish forerunners are really political labels as opposed to postally valid adhesives. They were not meant as prepayment of postage but fit into the turbulent and complex political history of the period, though much information about them is still unknown.