Che Guevara stamp: Post controversy

Fifty years after his execution, the legendary Che Guevara is still arousing controversy. An Irish stamp marking the anniversary of his death has angered Cuban-Americans who see him as a mass murderer and not the romanticised rebel figure that he is so often portrayed to be.

US-Cuban journalist Ninoska Perez told RTÉ that the man who played a key role in the Cuban revolution should not be honoured in this way.

This implies that by issuing a stamp bearing one of the most iconic images of the mid-20th century, An Post and, by extension, the Government and people of Ireland, are endorsing Guevara’s activities.

It also raises the prospect of confining images on stamps to worthy people and happy events. That would make the world of philately even more sedate than it already is.

Perhaps An Post might consider an innovation like introducing second-class postage stamps for notorious characters like Guevara and ensuring that first-class stamps only show more noble figures like Mother Teresa.