Ireland

New stamp to commemorate Rescue 116 crew

Organ donation, Liffey Swim and first sitting of the Dáil will also be marked

An Irish Coast Guard helicopter flying over the funeral of Capt Dara Fitzpatrick, one of the four members of the Rescue 116 crew who died last year. The crew will be commemorated on two new stamps. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Fiach Kelly Deputy Political Editor
Tue Mar 20 2018 - 20:21

The commissioning of new stamps to pay tribute to the Irish Coast Guard, as well as two stamps commemorating the sitting of the first Dáil, has been approved by the Government.

An Post will print the stamps as part of its programme for 2019 after the Cabinet signed off a list of special editions from Minister Communications Denis Naughten.

The two stamps for the Irish Coast Guard are described by the Government as tributes to the work the organisation does generally and to members who have lost their lives in the course of their duty, including Caitríona Lucas and the crew of Rescue 116.

The Dublin-based Coast Guard crew of Capt Dara Fitzpatrick, Capt Mark Duffy and winch crew Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith died in the Rescue 116 crash off the north Mayo coast on March 13th, 2017.

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Caitriona Lucas, an Irish Coast Guard Doolin volunteer, died during a search off Co Clare in September 2016.

Other commissioned stamps include two commemorating the first sitting of the Dáil, the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and the centenary of the birth of Iris Murdoch, the novelist and philosopher. There will also be a stamp for the centenary of the first transatlantic flight between Newfoundland in Canada and Clifden, Co Galway by British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown.

The 100th Liffey Swim will also be marked and an Irish Organ Donation stamp will encourage people to carry an organ donation card.

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