Stamps honour four Women in Public Life
3 March 2023
An Post has issued four stamps marking the outstanding contribution of Women in Public Life, just ahead of International Women’s Day next Wednesday and is encouraging everyone to take the opportunity to send a card or a letter to a women who has inspired them or supported them in some aspect of their life.
The four Irish women featured on the new national stamps are:
Mary Robinson - first woman President of Ireland, served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and is Chair of the Elders, Realizing Rights and the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Change.
Susan Denham - barrister, senior counsel, High Court judge and a member of the Supreme Court who also served as Chief Justice of Ireland from 2011 to 2017, the first woman to hold the position.
Jennie Wyse Power (1858 – 1941) was a founding member and former president of Cumann na mBan, long serving Senator and activist against gender discrimination.
Thekla Beere (1901-1991) was the first woman appointed Secretary of a government department and in 1970, chaired the Commission on the Status of Women.
The stamps were designed by Dublin based, Oonagh Young of Design HQ and are based on primary source materials, such as newspapers, academic chronicles and posters relating to the women featured. The national ‘N’ rate stamps issue covers postage on the island of Ireland and are available along with a specially designed First Day Cover from anpost.com/shop and selected post offices.
Speaking at the unveiling of the stamps at the GPO, Mrs Susan Denham, former Chief Justice, said: “I am honoured and delighted to feature on the Women in Public Life stamp issue, honoured on my own behalf and on behalf of the Judiciary, I regard it as a celebration of the inclusion of women in the Judiciary”.
Debbie Byrne, Managing Director, An Post Retail said: “The Women in Public Life stamp series celebrates women who are change makers in their own lifetime. Whether through their service to public life or their determined focus on social justice, the stamps capture the career achievements of these women in living their purpose to improve the lives of others in Ireland and globally.
“With International Women’s Day on 8th March, it’s a great time to send a note or letter to a woman who has inspired us or supported us along the way.”
Issuing ahead of International Women’s Day 2023 the stamps promote greater public awareness of the success achieved by these women within their respective fields. This is the latest in a series of stamps by An Post marking women’s contributions to Irish life, including Irish Women in Sport (2022), Jane, Lady Wilde/Speranza (2021) and Pioneering Irish Women (2020).