An Post’s appeal to the public seeking new ideas for the 2027 national stamp programme is about capturing “what represents Irish life”, according to An Post’s stamp design manager Aileen Mooney.
The service has issued a call for ideas from individuals, special interest groups, schools and colleges at home and abroad.
An Post designs and produces the annual stamp programme on behalf of the public, and each programme takes two years to create from start to finish.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, Ms Mooney said An Post is asking the public to “have a think” about which aspects of life in Ireland are important to them and what they would like to see featured on a new stamp.
An Post also advised those who may wish to make a suggestion to note important criteria when selecting their idea.
“We look for key things. Sometimes it’s an anniversary – a big one – like a 50th or 100th. We do creep outside that on occasion,” Ms Mooney said.
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“But really people, places, history, the arts, nature, science, music. Anything that they feel is representative of who they are,” she added.
For each new programme, the service first appoints a committee to decide on the subject matter.
A separate committee then decides on the general approach, before an artist is assigned to design the actual stamp.
Both topics and designs for the stamps are approved by the Cabinet, before being printed and made available through post offices and online.
The service has included “sources of inspiration” on its website for those who want to provide suggestions.
Iconic Irish singers such as Shane MacGowan, Séamus Begley, Sinéad O’Connor and Christy Dignam are among the most popular stamps issued recently by the service, which also recently commemorated the 150th anniversary of the IRFU, and Women in STEM.
