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Sunday 17 March 2013

Definitive Ireland - Sunday Stamps

It seems appropriate that Viridian chose stamps from Ireland (or green stamps) for the theme on St Patrick's Day.

I shown all my stamps from Eire two years ago but my friendly stallholder came up trumps again with some of their early definitive stamps issued in 1922.

The low value definitives included these:

Eire - The Sword of Light
An Claideam Solius - The Sword of Light or Shining Sword - appears om a number of Irish folklore tales.

The Map of Ireland needs no explanation

Eire
Nor does the Celtic Cross on the right.

Eire - Arms of the Four Provinces & The Celtic Cross
The four provinces of Ireland  shown on the shield are Leinster (top left), and clockwise, Connacht, Munster and Ulster.
 
As you can see from the scan these stamps have seen better days so, thanks to wikipedia commons, here is the set of the 12 low value definitives to admire.
 
Eire - 1922 Low value definitives
 For more stamps to make you green with envy, Irish or otherwise, take a look at what others have shared over at Sunday-Stamps-114.

9 comments:

Joy said...

They look nice as a set. I've never heard of the sword of light, I'll have to look up the stories.

Jo said...

Me too, sword of light sounds fascinating. Interesting stamps

viridian said...

Lovely detail on these stamps. I do like the Celtic cross (and shamrocks). Your market stall holder must be happy to have you visit!
Thank you for participating!

21 Wits said...

Yes, all Irish eyes are smiling, as am I on this timely and interesting stamp post of yours today! Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebrations Bob.

VioletSky said...

I like the intricate detailing of these old style stamps. And that no two are the same shade.

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

This is my favourite set of Irish stamps of all time but I have only a few of them on old postcards.

agi said...

i love the celtic designs on the stamps! (great idea for a tattoo ;))

Marcie said...

What a beautiful selection!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Bob .. I'm not sure if I prefer the old stamps, which are distinctive to their country ... some of the modern ones are exceedingly interesting, but have so much info on them. I didn't know about the Sword of Light ...

I enjoyed seeing these - thanks - Hilary