STAMP OF APPROVAL
Sinead O’Connor’s lookalike youngest son poses with new stamp of music icon mum as four Irish stars honoured
A special instrumental performance to honour the four artists will take place in the GPO and is free for the public
THE youngest son of rock icon Sinead O'Connor has posed with a new postage stamp of his late mother.
Yeshua Bonadio, 17, was taking part in An Post's launch of a new set of stamps - Iconic Irish Voices - honouring some of Ireland's greatest musicians who were taken from us in 2023.
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They include Nothing Compares 2 U singer Sinead, Pogues icon Shane MacGowan, Aslan's Christy Dignam, and traditional musician Seamus Begley.
Speaking at a private stamp unveiling for the featured artists’ families, David McRedmond, CEO of An Post, said he was "greatly honoured on behalf of the Irish people to release these special stamps as symbol of the nation’s respect and pride in their musical genius and their impact on the world".
He hailed the four stars as "proud Irish artists who shone brightly and bravely throughout their lives, bringing good times, inspiration and joy to millions upon millions of people".
Producer John Reynolds, Sinead's first husband, attended the event and spoke on behalf of O'Connor's family.
Read more on Sinead O'Connor
He said it was "a great honour for Sinead to be included in the stamp set and for the Irish State to remember her in such a dignified way, while we all still mourn her loss and the loss of her fellow musical greats".
It emerged earlier this year how the Nothing Compares 2 U icon tragically died in July 2023 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
Also honoured was Shane MacGowan, whose wife Victoria Mary Clarke said: "Shane would be exceptionally proud and delighted to be honoured with a stamp from An Post.
"He was a passionate Irishman with a huge love for Ireland and its history and culture and he was very interested in the stamps and often spoke about how much he loved them."
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Clarke, who was left heartbroken when the Fairytale of New York legend died of pneumonia in November last year, added: "He saw the Irish postage stamps as symbolic of our freedom from Britain and our status as an independent republic, the fact that we could issue our own stamps without the head of the British monarch was very important to him.
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"His family are all very grateful to An Post for this beautiful gesture."
Christy's daughter Kiera Dignam also shared how her dad would enjoy the idea of being "Irish royalty".
The Aslan singer passed away in June 2023, ten years after first being diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder.
Singer Kiera said: "Our family are deeply touched to have my dad honoured in such a beautiful way by An Post.
"Knowing his humour, to be on a stamp is definitely something he would giggle about, it’s like he’s Irish royalty.”
Meanwhile, Seamus Begley’s family commented: "This stamp is a wonderful recognition of the impact that Seamus had on people and we as a family are very proud and very grateful to An Post for this honour."
An Post described the "simple, unadorned black and white portrait stamps", designed by Shaughn McGrath, as "highlighting the artists’ humanity, strength and vulnerability".
Special performance
They added how each image highlighted "both the artist’s eyes, looking boldly back at us, and their hands, which they used to inscribe and perform".
To celebrate the new stamps as part of Culture Night 2024 on Friday September 20, An Post, in collaboration with Music Network Ireland, are inviting the public to visit the historic GPO for a special instrumental performance.
SINEAD: I DON'T FEAR DEATH
By KEN SWEENEY, Showbiz Editor
WHILE other superstars may have feared an assassin’s bullet after tearing up a picture of the Pope on stage, Sinead O’Connor never feared death.
The singer told the Irish Sun that touring in the ultra-conservative US after the 1992 Saturday Night Live incident didn’t phase her in the slightest.
We asked whether she feared an attack and she said: "Whatever happens happens, I don't give a f***.
"It doesn't matter. What's God will is what will happen. Wherever that is, good or bad I will roll with that. I don't have anything to lose because what I have and have always had is faith in God.
"I am able for everybody and anything, nobody can do anything to me that hasn't happened already, that's why I don't give a s**t."
The superstar was always an open and honest interviewee, on topics from sex to her body or otherworldly voice – or even Love Island’s Maura Higgins.
Sinead told us: "I told Maura I was jealous of her breasts, I said 'Jaysus you have the most perfect boobs, mine are completely f****d.
"Maura said nothing and just smiled politely.
"She seemed a bit cold to be out without her shirt on at this time of year. She seemed sweet. I have never seen Love Island."
Gorgeous Sinead spared herself any flattery on her own looks.
She told The Irish Sun: "I don't get paid to look good. I get paid to write songs and sing them. No one has ever disputed that in those departments I'm utterly glorious."
The show will consist of four world-famous songs celebrating the work of the stars featured on the stamps
The evening will feature four 15-minute performances at 6.30pm, 7pm, 7.30pm, 8pm.
Limited edition release
An Post promises the event - which is free and wheelchair accessible - will be a "must-see for music lovers and fans of the featured artists, so greatly admired and missed by so many people in Ireland and across the world".
The new stamp collection will be available online from tomorrow.
Each stamp is available in a sheet of four priced at €5.60 for national, €8.80 for international.
There is also a limited edition first day cover envelope which costs €8.70 and features an emotive image of a lone microphone stand cast in the spotlight.