Ireland On-Line

Ireland On-Line was the first commercial internet service provider in Ireland, formed in 1992 by Barry Flanagan and reported to have launched Ireland's first mass market internet service in January 1994. The company was bought by the postal service An Post in 1997 for 2.5 million Irish pounds, then sold two years later to Esat Telecom Group for 115 million Irish pounds; Esat Telecom was itself taken over by BT Group in 2000 and rebranded Esat BT in 2002, and in 2009 BT Ireland withdrew from retail telecommunications, transferring Ireland On-Line's former subscribers to Vodafone Ireland.