An Post puts stamp on fame of naval giants

FOUR Irishmen who answered the call of the sea and earned fame abroad were celebrated on home ground yesterday.

Near the Wexford quayside, An Post launched their latest stamps. One honours local man John Barry, born less than 10 miles away in Tacumshane and known to generations of schoolchildren as the Father of the US Navy.

Junior Marine Minister John Browne, a Wexford man from Enniscorthy, said the county’s sea-going tradition went back to the early settlements at the mouth of the Slaney.

“As an island nation it is no surprise that our history should be marked by generations of our young men going to sea in ships,” said An Post executive member Garrett Thornton.

Mayo man Admiral William Brown, who left Foxford aged nine when his family emigrated, is honoured as the Father of the Argentine Navy. From cabin boy he rose through the ranks and was later asked to command the country’s navy to fight Spanish rule. He is still celebrated in Buenos Aires.

Lesser known mariners are Captain Robert Halpin (1836-1894) from Wicklow and Co Cork native Captain Richard Roberts (1803-1841).