An Post has issued a set of four colourful stamps to mark the St Patrick’s Festival and the national holiday which honours the feast day of St Patrick. Photo: An Post. The snakes have returned to Ireland—at least, that’s the concern raised by Fr Patrick Moore, who sees An Post’s latest St Patrick’s Day stamp design as a troubling sign of the country’s increasing secularisation.
In a letter to The Irish Catholic, Fr Moore PP of Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, lamented that despite St Patrick famously driving out the snakes of pre-Christian paganism, modern Ireland appears to be inviting them back in, replacing faith with what he calls a secularised approach to Irish history. “Poor St Patrick, even after driving out the snakes of pre-Christian paganism, here, they reappear, in the form of our annual An Post contribution for the feast—or rather now, the festival—of St Patrick’s Day, as they call it.”
A longtime member of An Post’s Philatelic section—the division dedicated to the study of stamps—Fr Moore expressed disappointment that major Catholic figures like St Oliver Plunkett, Ven. Matt Talbot, and St Laurence O’Toole have been overlooked in recent commemorative stamp releases. Instead, he noted, the postal service has chosen to honour late musicians Shane MacGowan and Sinéad O’Connor, remarking wryly that both have been “blessed” with a place in An Post’s collection.
Fr Moore also pointed to what he sees as a broader cultural shift, similar to the recent push to equate St Brigid with a pre-Christian Celtic goddess. “The very valuable stamp commemorations should be holistic and not narrow-minded,” he urged, calling for a more balanced representation of Ireland’s history.
An Post, however, has defended the stamp series as a celebration of the ‘adventurous spirit’ associated with Ireland’s national holiday. The design, unveiled at the GPO by Ministers Patrick O’Donovan and Charlie McConalogue, incorporates the image of a snake as a playful nod to the legend of St Patrick. “This creative design incorporates the snake into a set of four stamps capturing the event’s fun, energy, and playfulness,” An Post explained in its press release.
Minister McConalogue emphasised that the stamps are meant to be “a fitting accompaniment to the festival, with the artwork recognising a piece of mythos in Irish tradition,” while St Patrick’s Festival CEO Richard Tierney described them as a tribute to Ireland’s cultural heritage in a way that resonates with the global Irish diaspora.
Whether An Post will reconsider its approach remains to be seen, but Fr Moore’s criticism highlights a growing debate over the reshaping of Ireland’s past—and the role faith should play in its national identity.