The Government has decided to mark the 400th anniversary next year of the Plantation of Ulster by English and Scottish Protestants by issuing two special stamps from An Post.
The marking of the settlement of Ulster, one of the most significant acts in the history of the island, was one of a large number of anniversaries approved by the Cabinet to be marked by special stamps.
Meanwhile, it is likely that An Post will issue a stamp later this year to commemorate the loss of Manchester United "Busby Babe" footballer Liam Whelan, who died in the Munich air disaster.
The decision to issue two stamps to mark the Plantation of Ulster - where Protestants were settled on land confiscated from Catholic Irish landowners in Donegal, Coleraine, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Armagh and Cavan - following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, will be seen as a symbolic act in the ongoing maturing of relationships between both parts of the island, and between Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Also to be commemorated is English novelist Anthony Trollope, who spent time working in the Post Office in Ireland in the 1840s before going on to invent the pillar box postbox and to become a successful writer..
The centenary of the death of John Millington Synge, whose The Playboy of the Western Worldprovoked riots in the Abbey two years before his death, will also be honoured.
The achievements of four modern Irish playwrights "who have made an enormous contribution to drama in English", will also be marked.
They are Brian Friel, Marina Carr, Frank McGuinness and Tom Murphy.
Ireland's success in attracting the European Dog Show to Dublin in June 2009 will also be celebrated - an event likely to see 10,000 dogs being displayed in the capital and which will also attract tens of thousands of visitors.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Éamon Ryan, has appointed former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald as the new chairman of An Post.
He will replace Margaret McGinley. Mr Fitzgerald recently produced a plan for the regeneration of Limerick. Mr Ryan said, "I am very pleased that John Fitzgerald will be bringing his extensive experience to the board of An Post.
"The postal sector is preparing for a period of change during which An Post will face increased competition from other operators.
"Continued innovation and adaptation to customers' needs will ensure the bright future I envisage for this company."
Mr Fitzgerald, he said, had a proven track record "in leading and managing change and can deliver on this objective".
The appointment of Catherine Woods, formerly a member of the Electronic Communications Appeal Panel, as a director of An Post was also announced, in place of Peter Wyer, who has stepped down after two terms.
