National Stamp (Erskine Childers)

On November 17, we issue a special stamp to mark the centenary of the death of Erskine Childers. His execution 100 years ago was a controversial incident during the Irish Civil War.

Although he acted as secretary to the Irish delegation involved in the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations, Childers was a prominent campaigner against the Treaty during the Civil War. During World War I, Erskine Childers was a British intelligence officer but later joined the Irish nationalist movement. His yacht, Asgard, was used to smuggle a cargo of rifles and ammunition from Germany to the Irish Volunteers movement at Howth, County Dublin in June 1914.

Our stamp, featuring a painting titled ‘The Intelligence Man’, by Mick O’Dea PPRHA, touches on the path undertaken by Childers. The former intelligence worker for the British subsequently became a Sinn Fein TD and a director of propaganda during the Irish War of Independence from Britain.

The tragic death of Childers followed his arrest in County Wicklow. He was charged with possessing a pistol and sentenced to death under emergency legislation passed by Dáil Éireann, which allowed for the execution of those captured bearing arms against the state during the Civil War.

Product code 2214N