1am tonight is the official moment when the hands of time move one hour forward in Ireland and elsewhere, as Daylight Saving Time (DST) commences.
While working as the American ambassador to France, inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin suggested that people in Paris could significantly reduce candle usage by getting up earlier in summer time, thus making better usage of natural light.
The practice of moving clocks one hour ahead was first mooted in the UK by William Willet, a well known builder, back in 1907. He published a short essay titled “The Waste of Daylight”, in which he spoke about moving the clocks forward as the hours of daylight increased towards the summer, and reverse the process towards the winter. It would be 1916 before it became law, and DST was officially adopted.
Incidentally, Mr. Willet is the great-great grandfather of Coldplay singer, Chris Martin.