Iconic Irish Voices - new stamps honour four of Ireland’s greatest musicians

11 September 2024

Entitled ‘Iconic Irish Voices’, the four-stamp set marks their passing and their contributions to Irish life and music. The stamp set includes two ‘N’ National rate stamps showing striking portrait photographs of Séamus Begley and Christy Dignam, together with images of Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor on two ‘W’ stamps for posting worldwide.    

Available from Thursday 12th September online at anpost.com/IrishVoices and in selected Post Offices nationwide, each stamp is available in a sheet of four (€5.60 for national, €8.80 for international), as well as on a limited edition First Day Cover envelope (€8.70), featuring an emotive image of a lone microphone stand cast in the spotlight.    

The simple, unadorned black and white portrait stamps were designed by Shaughn McGrath of Shaughn McGrath Creative and highlight the artists’ humanity, strength and vulnerability. Each image highlights both the artists’ eyes, looking boldly back at us, and their hands, which they used to inscribe and perform.    

Speaking at a private stamp unveiling for the featured artists’ families, David McRedmond, CEO of An Post said: “It’s still hard to accept that Christy, Seamus, Sinead and Shane are no longer with us. Each of them shone brightly and bravely throughout their lives, bringing good times, inspiration and joy to millions upon millions of people.  They were proud Irish artists whose work explored, often critically, our identity as a people.  We are greatly honoured on behalf of the people of Ireland to release these special stamps as symbol of the nation’s respect and pride in their musical genius and their impact on the world.”   

Séamus Begley’s family commented: “This stamp is a wonderful recognition of the impact that Séamus had on people and we as a family are very proud and very grateful to An Post for this honour.” 

Kiera Dignam, daughter of Christy Dignam said: “Our family are deeply touched to have my Dad honoured in such a beautiful way by A Post. Knowing his humour, to be on a stamp is definitely something he would giggle about, it’s like he’s Irish Royalty!”  

 Victoria Mary Clarke, wife of Shane MacGowan said: 'Shane would be exceptionally proud and delighted to be honoured with a stamp from An Post.  He was a passionate Irish man with a huge love for Ireland and its history and culture and he was very interested in the stamps and often spoke about how much he loved them.  He saw the Irish postage stamps as symbolic of our freedom from Britain and our status as an independent republic, the fact that we could issue our own stamps without the head of the British monarch was very important to him.  His family are all very grateful to An Post for this beautiful gesture.” 

On behalf of the O’Connor family, John Reynolds said it was great honour for Sinead to be included in the stamp set and for the Irish State to remember her in such a dignified way while we all still mourn her loss and the loss of her fellow musical greats.  

Culture Night Performance at The GPO  
To celebrate the new stamps and as part of Culture Night 2024 on Friday 20th September , An Post, in collaboration with Music Network Ireland, invites the public to visit the historic GPO for a special instrumental performance of four world-famous songs, celebrating the work of Séamus Begley, Christy Dignam, Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor.  There will be four (15-minute) performances on the evening at:  6:30pm, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm. The event is free (no ticket required), wheelchair accessible and is a must-see for music lovers and fans of the featured artists, so greatly admired and missed by so many people in Ireland and across the world.   

Pictured in attached at the private stamp unveiling for the featured artists’ families, from L>R: Yeshua Bonadio, son of Sinéad O’Connor, Victoria Mary Clarke, wife of Shane MacGowan, David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, Kiera Dignam, daughter of Christy Dignam and Máire Uí Bheaglaoich, wife of Séamus Begley.

/ENDS

Note to the Editor: 

The Artists 
Kerryman Séamus Begley (26/9/1949–9/1/2023) was one of Ireland’s greatest accordion players, and a stalwart of traditional music. He was an accomplished singer as well as an outstanding musician. Over the course of his long musical career – which began when he was a child – he excelled on his own merits and engaged in numerous musical collaborations.  

Christy Dignam (23/5/1960 – 13/6/2023) was the lead singer of Dublin band Aslan. In the 1980s and 1990s, Aslan’s songs, including Crazy World and This Is provided a soundtrack to a tumultuous period in modern Irish history. Dignam was open about his personal struggles, above which his talent soared. His work remains deeply loved.  

Shane MacGowan (25/12/1957 – 30/11/2023) was the lead singer-songwriter of The Pogues, whose wild, anarchic, London-born, and yet quintessentially Irish sound burst onto the music scene in 1982, proving that Irish music is many things: traditional, innovative, wild, and tender. MacGowan was one of the finest lyricists of his generation and a performer of rare talent.  

Sinéad O’Connor (8/12/1966 – 26/7/2023) became an overnight sensation in 1987 when, aged almost twenty-one, her album The Lion and the Cobra was released. The public was astonished by her vocal range, her passion, and her combination of strength and fragility. She would record in a variety of genres throughout her long career, never losing touch with her trademark emotional integrity. 

Photo Credits: Sinéad O’Connor (Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images); Christy Dignam (Independent News and Media/Getty Images); Shane MacGowan (Steve Pyke/Getty Images) and Séamus Begley (Con Kelleher). FDC microphone image courtesy of Adobe Stock.