In tribute to the late celebrated Irish musicians- Sinéad O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Christy Dignam, and Séamus Begley, An Post is releasing four commemorative stamps. Entitled Iconic Irish Voices, the stamps, which will be available for purchase from Thursday, are intended to honour the significant influence these artists had on Ireland’s music and culture.
Shaughn McGrath Creative’s Shaughn McGrath designed these monochrome stamps, each of which mainly depicts the eyes and hands of the commemorated artists. At a private reveal event held for the families of the deceased musicians, An Post’s CEO, David McRedmond expressed his sadness at the loss of these great artists who had a profound impact on countless individuals and greatly impacted Ireland’s identity through their music. He stated that releasing these stamps was a significant way of honouring their extraordinary contributions to music.
Shane MacGowan’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, stated that her husband, who deeply loved Ireland’s culture and history, would have been profoundly touched and felt immense pride over being recognised with a stamp. She viewed the stamp as representing Ireland’s breakaway from Britain and establishment as an independent republic, and expressed her profound gratitude to An Post for this meaningful act.
John Reynolds, on behalf of the O’Connor family, claimed it was an immense honour for Sinéad to be remembered through the release of a stamp. Similarly, Christy Dignam’s daughter, Kiera, acknowledged her family felt deeply moved that her father was being honoured in such a poignant way. Séamus Begley’s family echoed these sentiments, stating that the stamp was a fitting acknowledgement of Séamus’s status as one of Ireland’s most exceptional accordion players and the significant influence he had on others.