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Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland
  Press Statements

Orange Stamp Of Approval Over Somme Plan

17 February 2006

The Orange Order has welcomed the news that the Republic of Ireland will officially mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme through the issue of a special commemorative stamp.

The news has been confirmed in a letter to the Grand Lodge from An Post, the Republic of Ireland's postal authority.

The move comes after the Orange Order lobbied for a special stamp to mark the anniversary and the Order's Director of Services, Dr. David Hume, said they were delighted with the decision.

"The Battle of the Somme is remembered with honour across Northern Ireland and in parts of the Irish Republic such as Donegal and elsewhere, which helped fill the ranks of the 36th Ulster Division. We all know the tragic consequences of that summer day in 1916 for individuals and families, and in the small Protestant communities of the border counties of Ulster the impact was even greater,"

"It is entirely fitting that the Irish Republic should mark this anniversary, and I have no doubt this gesture will be appreciated within the unionist community," he said.

The Order has, however, not given its stamp of approval to the Royal Mail, after the UK postal authority declined to issue a similar commemorative stamp.

Royal Mail told the Order that it only marked anniversaries in multiples of 50 or if a Royal occasion merited a special issue.

However, the Order has questioned the issuing of a special set of stamps in October to mark England's winning the Ashes. "We were led to the conclusion that Royal Mail considered winning the Ashes a royal occasion," the Order said.

"This response from Royal Mail was rather disappointing and contrasts with the response from An Post in the Republic of Ireland," an Orange Order spokesman.

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