Sticky problem: Earls stamps on sale ahead of 7c hike
The postal service has printed 400,000 of the stamps, which could puzzle consumers who now face having to buy an extra 7c in stamps to make up the postage from next Thursday.
An Post launched the two 48c stamps yesterday to commemorate the historic 17th century Flight of the Earls from Ulster.
“The Flight of the Earls was 400 years ago, so surely An Post could have waited a week and launched a 55c stamp instead,” said Michael Kilcoyne of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland.
“It looks like bad management on the part of An Post while consumers are now going to have to queue up to buy an extra 7c of stamps.”
The commemorative stamps, launched in Letterkenny, Co Galway, by Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, went on sale yesterday and will be available for three months in post offices.
The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) said that when the price of stamps was increased, old ones were generally withdrawn from sale unless customers asked for them.
IPU general secretary John Kane said the practice in the past when a new stamp was issued during a postal price rise was to print the letter “N” on the stamps instead of a price.
An Post spokesman Richard Ryan said the stamps would be printed with a 48c price tag but denied the service had made a mistake.
He said the decision to issue the commemorative Flight of Earls stamps was taken before An Post knew whether its approval for a rise was to be granted by the Government’s postal regulator ComReg.
“We can’t just not issue new stamps because of a rate increase,” he said.
“These stamps will have been printed well in advance.”
Collectors across the world are expected to show great interest in the new stamps, which show Gaelic chieftains Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, fleeing Ireland for Spain in 1607.
Their flight marked the demise of the Gaelic order and paved the way for the Plantation of Ulster.
An Post chairwoman Margaret McGinley said: “The Flight of the Earls had a fundamental influence on Irish society and its impact is still seen today.
“The issue of these stamps is but part of a major initiative across this county and beyond, and we very much hope they will help to highlight and advertise the anniversary year both at home and abroad.”