The American Irish Teachers Association is working to have a commemorative stamp issued in recognition of the Centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Such recognition is not without precedent, in 1989 the U.S. Postal Service recognized the 200th Anniversary of France’s Bastille Day and the start of the French Revolution, it is equally fitting that the Easter Rising should similarly be commemorated. Though often absent from school history books, Ireland was an early and unfailing supporter of the fledgling United State as noted by George Washington: “Ireland, thou friend of my country in my country’s most friendless days, much injured, much enduring land, accept this poor tribute from one who esteems thy worth, and mourns thy desolation. May the God of Heaven, in His justice and mercy, grant thee more prosperous fortunes, and in His own time, cause the sun of Freedom to shed its benign radiance on the Emerald Isle.” It is therefore right and fitting that the USPS should recognize the Centenary of the start of the “the sun of Freedom to shed its benign radiance on the Emerald Isle.”
The proposed model for the stamp would have illustrations of the Declaration of Independence and the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic flanking the Light of Liberty under a banner containing the words “Liberty’s Legacy.”
A sample letter may be found HERE. Certainly such a worthy project is worth a few minutes time and a stamp to see that the rebirth of the Irish Nation, a constant friend to the United States, is celebrated.