On 24 July, An Post issued two commemorative stamps marking the forthcoming centenary of the outbreak of World War I (1914 – 1918) “Recruiting Irish Soldiers for the Great War”.
The 68c and €1 stamps, together with a limited edition First Day Cover envelope, feature recruitment posters issued by the Central Council for the Organisation of Recruiting in Ireland to encourage Irish men to join the British war effort in Europe. The images were provided by The National Library of Ireland.
The stamps were designed by renowned Irish designer, Ger Garland.
The Irish parliamentary leader John Redmond is featured on the 68c stamp quoting his remarks made at Woodenbridge, County Wicklow, in September 2014 and repeated in Waterford in 1915 urging Irish men to join the British army: “Your first duty is to take your part in ending the war”. Some 10,000 copies of this particular poster were made.
The €1 stamp features a poster of an man dressed in what was regarded as Irish fashion against the silhouette of Glendalough with the caption “I’ll go too and the real Irish spirit”. 7,000 copies of this poster were circulated.
In launching the stamps, the following information was circulated by An Post:
“World War I was one of the largest conflicts in history, approximately 15 million people were killed, of which 9 million were soldiers. When it came to recruitment, there was no conscription for Irish citizens from the south but about 140,000 volunteered for a variety of reasons. Some joined up because they saw it as a fight against oppression. But Ireland in 1914 was deeply divided between nationalist and unionist political groups and naturally local considerations played an important part for many of them.
The first Irish Division to see action was the 10th Division, which landed at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli in August 1915. One battalion, the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers, nicknamed ‘The Footballers’ included many rugby-playing professional men, as well as a professor of law from Dublin University while another contained Dublin Dockers. The 36th (Ulster) Division went over the top on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, with 5,500 killed, wounded or missing out of a total of about 15,000. The 16th (Irish) Division was also involved in the Somme campaign. Eight months later, both Divisions fought alongside each other, causing some to hope that the common experience might help political reconciliation back home.”
The stamps and first day cover may be viewed and purchased at www.irishstamps.ie; at Dublin’s GPO and all main post offices and ordered by phone at Tel: (01) 705 7400.
According to An Post, during 2015 stamps commemorating 100 years since the sinking of the Lusitania and the Gallipoli campaign will be launched.
