


I can finally reveal my good news on winning the national competition to design the stamp for the centenary of the establishment of Saorstát Éireann.
The competition was open to professional artists and partnered by An Post and Business to Arts …. it really is a great honour, and thanks for choosing my work.
National Stamp (Saorstát Éireann)
The open call received entries from over 100 professional artists across a variety of media. An independent judging panel selected Brian Gallagher from among a range of talented artists and exceptional artwork. He received a bursary of €10,000 and his stamp marking the centenary of the establishment of the Irish Free State takes its place among the 2022 national stamp programme, produced by An Post on behalf of the State.
The illustration features corncrakes emerging from a long meadow, symbolising the ideal of freedom and new beginnings. An old tower house with a frayed tricolour depicts the difficult, long road to some form of independence. A crack running down the tower house hints at signs of schism of the Civil War and alludes to the division between nationalism and unionism. The original black and white scraperboard artwork has two colours, green and orange, added digitally.