Mary Tourtel was created in 1920, at a time when the "Express" was in competition with "The Daily Mail" and its then popular comic strip "Teddy Tail", as well as the strip "Pip, Squeak and Wilfred" in "The Daily Mirror". The then news editor of the "Express", Herbert Tourtel, was approached with the task of producing a new comic strip to rival those of the "Mail" and "Mirror" and immediately thought of his wife Mary, already an established author and artist. Rupert Bear was the result and was first published as a nameless character in a strip titled "Little Lost Bear" on
Daily Express (Dublin) Lough Mask House Relief Expedition. The "Daily Express" donated food and supplies. At the time it was owned by Lord Ardilaun. Standish James O'Grady (1846–1928), a figure in the Irish Literary Revival and author of a "History of Ireland", worked on the Daily Express as a journalist until 1898. The radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi reported for the newspaper on the Kingstown Regatta of July, 1898, and he did so by sending wireless messages from a steam tug which were then telephoned to Dublin. This has been claimed as the first live transmission of a sporting event anywhere in the world.