The father of evolution, Charles Darwin, is being commemorated in a new stamp issued by An Post today.
The 82 cent stamp will celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Darwin who set out his famous theory of evolution in the book, On the Origin of Species, in 1859.
The centenary of the death of Irish playwright John Millington Synge will also be marked with a 55 cent stamp on Tuesday.
The Darwin stamp, designed by artist Steve Simpson, features a pen and ink drawing housed by the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Darwin first noticed slight variations between species from island to island during a British Science expedition to the Galapagos Islands.
The Synge stamp, designed by artist Paul Raftery, features an illustration by Irish artist Sean Keating of a scene from The Playboy of the Western World.
The controversial drama caused riots on its opening night at the Abbey in 1907 before it was eventually regarded as a classic.
“Synge wrote several other acclaimed plays, as well as prose and poetry, showcasing his unique ear for the structure and melody of Hiberno-English, especially as it was spoken in the west of Ireland,” said a spokesperson for An Post.
Both stamps may be purchased at www.irishstamps.ie or at main post offices nationwide.