IRELAND

IRELAND / ÉIRE.

National Map.
Fourth stamp in a set of 12, issued in 1922.
Face value: 2 pence.
Size: 25 x 21 mm.

Catalogues
- Scott No. 68.
- StampWorld No. 50.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 43.

This is one of the first stamps issued by the Republic of Ireland, which had recently gained independence from Great Britain after a bloody War of Independence (Cogadh na Saoirse, in Irish Gaelic) against the British Army, which began on 21 January 1919 and ended on July 11, 1921. The Anglo-Irish Treaty (An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), signed in London on December 6, 1921, established the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann).

This stamp would be reprinted, with a different watermark, in 1941. The map represents the whole of the island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, which would continue to belong to the United Kingdom, although always claimed by the Republic of Ireland.