On Friday 6^th March 2026, I attended a virtual chat at Stampex and listened to Aileen Mooney (of AnPost) speak for a while on “Back to the Philatelic Future”. The following is an unstructured summary of what I took away from that virtual chat.

Any comments (in italics) added below are purely those of the author.

• AnPost believes in stamps. Although they work in a shrinking market, they are committed to continuing with Irish stamps. (A separate article, recently posted online, mentioned that, while the stamp side of AnPost’s business may be safe for another ten years, it is clear that the parcels division is where the growth is. Both divisions are managed as separate entities within AnPost.)
• AnPost typically has 12 or 13 stamp issues per year. Self-adhesives have been used since Covid.
• Stamp production needs permission, especially if the stamps feature living people, and also to overcome copyright issues. All of this is subject to budget costs and links with artists and designers, and television production companies.
• The subjects of stamp issues include many cultural topics. These include Arts, Materials, Culture and History where notable figures and events are commemorated. Examples of popular culture include Music and Fashion.
• Stamps are a form of self-determination (not too sure what that means, really). They are a window to Ireland.
• Thematic stamps sell well. There is pressure to include topics like sports, music and commemorative ideas. Flora&Fauna and Transport is very popular.
• AnPost is in the process of creating a digital and physical database of Irish stamp issues. (I don’t think it has been decided yet if this will be made available to the general public but, with all new initiatives, it is something that may grow and expand its reach in the future.)
• If you have any ideas for new stamp issues, you can email them to stampideas@anpost.ie or post them to their new EXXO Building (GPO HQ in Dublin).
  • I asked Aileen how should I present my idea so that AnPost might consider it “worthwhile”. Her reply was … keep it simple, a short paragraph is sufficient. (So, don’t over cook it.)
• I mentioned that AnPost currently supports STAMPA and asked if AnPost would be interested in supporting philatelic societies in Dublin or across Ireland. Aileen’s response was that AnPost is doing their best to encourage links with philatelic societies and is hoping to do something “special” at STAMPA this year. (Perhaps it is up to us as societies to reach out to AnPost and see how we could mutually benefit from each other.)
• Apart from the fact that Aileen was verbally referred to as Eileen … the virtual chat ended after about 40 minutes and I grabbed a cup of tea. (The online session was good. So was my cup of tea.)

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