Postal orders were issued in Ireland from 1881 until they were discontinued in late 2001 just before the change over to the Euro. The current alternative is the An Post Postal Money Order which serves an equivalent purpose. Layout The denomination is stated in numerals at the right-hand side and also written across the centre panel. The issuing post office postmark is added in the bottom right while the cashing post office cancel is applied at the bottom left. The poundage is printed in the '' panel, at the left side. When the poundage has been increased the current fee is stated in writing. Irish issues of British postal orders The first postal orders to be issued in Ireland were British postal orders issued on 1 January 1881. At this time, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This lasted until 1922. The first Irish postal orders The first Irish postal orders was a transitional series overprinted on British postal orders. The Irish inscription '' ('Irish postal order') was overprinted on the inscription ''. This series caused a bit of a stir, as the portrait of King George V was not overprinted. These were issued from 4 April 1922. The second series of Irish postal orders These were also overprinted British postal orders, but the King's portrait was overprinted with this inscription '' ('Provisional Government of Ireland') in four lines. The issue of these began in May 1922. The third series of Irish postal orders Like the first two series, this series was also a series of overprinted British postal orders. The overprinted inscription on the King's portrait was changed to '' ('Irish Free State 1922'). The issue of this series began in January 1924 and ended in January 1928. The first native Irish Free State postal orders The issue of the first native Irish Free State postal orders began in September 1927. The design of these included a harp surrounded by the inscription '' inside a box giving the poundage in both Irish and English. The field of the postal orders was bilingually inscribed in Irish and English. The words 'not negotiable' were rendered in Irish as ' (the dialect that this comes from is not known). The back of the postal orders contained the regulations in both Irish and English. 'Irish postal order' was expressed as Órdú Puist Éireannach. Postal orders of the