Stamps will be issued to mark the centenary of key historical events

Stamps to mark key events of a century ago, including the landing of Irish troops at Gallipoli, the sinking of the Lusitania and Pearse’s speech at the grave of O’Donovan Rossa, are among 16 new stamps to issue next year.

The government on Tuesday approved the issuance of 16 new stamps over the coming year, many of which commemorate important anniversaries.

Two stamps will be issued to commemorate the Irish soldiers of the British Army who landed at Gallipoli in 1915. About 4,000 of them died during the campaign.

Two stamps will also be issued to mark the centenary of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-boat off Cork in May 1915 with the loss of nearly 2,000 lives.

A stamp will be issued to commemorate the centenary of Pearse’s speech at O’Donovan Rossa’s grave in which he spoke the words: “Fools, fools, fools – they left us our Fenians dead.”

A stamp will be issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Taoiseach Sean Lemass’ meeting with the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Terence O’Neill in 1965.

The 50 anniversary of the founding of Mountain Rescue Ireland will be commemorated with two stamps and the same anniversary of the Young Scientist of the Year competition will be marked with a stamp.

Four stamps will be issued to represent Ireland, the Island of Food, while five stamps will be issued to represent the five senses.

Four stamps will be issued in honor of designer Eileen Gray while Animation Ireland will also have four and the Science Gallery one.

Communications Minister Alex White has sought approval from his cabinet colleagues for adding an additional stamp to the list. It was to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nobel Prize winning poet William Butler Yeats.