Space is one small step for stamp collectors in 2019

Communications Minister Denis Naughten secured Cabinet approval for the 2019 stamps yesterday.

It will include two special tribute stamps recognising the work of the Irish Coast Guard and commemorate members who lost their lives in the line of duty. It will also include Coast Guard volunteer Catriona Lucas.

The centenary of the first meeting of Dail Eireann on January 21, 1919, will be recognised with two special commemorative stamps.

A St Patrick's Day stamp called A Stamp for Ireland will interpret Irish identity, explore the national holiday and its importance as a day of celebration.

Four more stamps will be launched for 2019's Culture Night. It will incorporate the best of Ireland's arts and heritage and showcase both indoor and outdoor events.

Centenary

Another centenary commemorated with a special stamp will the 100th year since the first transatlantic flight by John Alcock and Arthur Brown.

It commenced in Newfoundland and ended at Clifden in June 1919 after they accepted a challenge to become the first crew to fly across the Atlantic Ocean without refuelling.

Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. Four stamps will be launched to mark the occasion and celebrate astronauts with Irish heritage, including Neil Armstrong, who had roots in Co Fermanagh.

Michael Collins - who flew Gemini 10 in 1966, when he performed a spacewalk, and helped pilot Apollo 11 - Nasa's first female pilot Eileen Collins and Catherine Grace Coleman, who called in a special St Patrick's Day message from the International Space Station in 2011, will all be recognised for Irish heritage.