TWO OF IRELAND’S most prominent and controversial figures have been brought closer together – on a stamp just issued by An Post.
The stamp marks the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the Government of Ireland Act 1914, better known as the Home Rule Act.
The 60 cent stamp, designed by Ger Garland, features John Redmond, Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and Unionist politician Edward Carson. The two had a good personal relationship, but butted heads on the act.
The so called ‘Home Rule Act’ was passed by parliament in 1914 and was intended to provide a measure of self government for Ireland then under British rule.
The Act emerged after Catholic Emancipation and the emergence of a strong Irish Party. The two key figures of the time were Redmond, a Wexford politician who pushed the cause of Irish Home rule, and Carson, from Dublin, who opposed it.
Redmond led the Irish Parliamentary Part from 1900 to 1918 while Carson was the leader of the Unionist Alliance and Ulster Unionist Party from 1910 until 1921.
An accompanying first day cover features the stamp and a reproduction of a satirical cartoon of the time. Both are available at www.irishstamps.ie, main post offices or the Irish Stamp shop in Dublin’s GPO.
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