Looking back on why the clocks go forward

“Spring Forward and Fall Back” is a well-known saying for Daylight Saving Time (DST), but why the need for the biannual ritual?

Summer Time, or DST, began as a way to make better use of daylight during the warmer months, with roots tracing back to the 18th century.

The concept, however, truly took hold as a wartime measure during World War 1.

In 1784, Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea in a satirical essay in which he suggested changes to sleep schedules to save money on candles and lamp oil.

A century and a quarter later in 1907, British construction tycoon William Willett proposed a system of moving clocks forward in 20-minute increments each week, an idea also mooted by New Zealander George Vernon Hudson.

On 30 April 1916, Germany and Austria–Hungary first adopted DST to save fuel and minimise artificial lighting during the war effort.

Just three weeks later on 21 May 1916, Great Britain and Ireland introduced Summer Time to maximise daylight hours in the evening, reducing the need for artificial lighting and saving on fuel consumption.
Many countries reverted to standard time following the end of World War 1 in November 1918.

While most countries eventually abandoned DST, Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States have continued the concept to the present day.

In spite of a 2018 European Parliament vote asking the European Commission to re-evaluate the principle of Summer Time in Europe, the Irish Government announced in late 2019 that the proposal to end DST was not straightforward and Ireland would oppose the end of seasonal clock changes.

The then Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan cited a “representative opinion poll” which revealed that “82% of public were not in favour of different time zones between Ireland and Northern Ireland.”

At 1.00 a.m. on Sunday, the clocks will go forward in Ireland by one hour to 2.00 a.m.

The “grand stretch in the evening” is truly under way.