Capt Duffy and Rescue 116 to be remembered with new stamp

Captain Mark Duffy and his Rescue 116 colleagues are to be commemorated on a new set of stamps, after the Government signed off on a number of brand new limited stamps. 

An Post will produce and release the new stamps as part of their 2019 collection. Minister for Communications Denis Naughton has approved the new designs which will be available from next year. 

The Government say two stamps featuring the Irish Coast Guard will act as tributes to the work the organisation and especially to members who have lost their lives in the course of their duty, including Capt Duffy and the Rescue 116 team. 

Four members of the rescue crew were on board the Coast Guard helicopter on March 17th 2017 when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Blacksod Bay in County Mayo. All lost their lives. The bodies of Capt Duffy, from Blackrock, and Capt Dara Fitzpatrick were recovered. 

However, the bodies of crew members Ciarán Smith and Paul Ormsby have not been recovered despite extensive searches. 

Just last week, families and friends of the deceased gathered at in Blacksod Bay for a vigil and rememberence of those lost in the tragedy while a number of other memorials were held marking the first anniversary of the crash.

Other stamps that have been commissioned for design include one to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and two stamps marking the first sitting of the Dáil.