Congratulations to Pádraig Ó Flannabhra, who is now part of Irish postal history. His photograph of a portrait of Dr. Thomas W. Croke, Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, was used on a stamp to mark the centenary of the archbishop’s death.

Archbishop Croke was born in Cork in 1824. He was ordained in 1846 and became president of St. Colman’s College, Fermoy in 1858. Having spent four years as Bishop of Aukland, he was promoted to Archbishop of Cashel & Emly in 1875. Publicly associated with land agitation and other forms of nationalism, he published the so-called "No Tax Manifesto" in the "Freeman’s Journal" in 1887. A major influence on Irish social and political life, his condemnation of Charles Stewart Parnell’s continued leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party in 1890 led to his replacement as party leader. A lifelong opponent of intemperance, he established branches of the temperance organisation St. Patrick’s League of the Cross throughout his diocese. He was the first patron of the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.), making it a major force in rural Ireland. His name is perpetuated in Croke Park, Dublin, the headquarters of the G.A.A. He died in 1902.

The archbishop’s portrait was painted by James Butler Brennan, R.H.A., a Cork born artist who exhibited numerous works at the Royal Hibernian Academy between 1843 and 1886. He was formerly headmaster of the Science and Art School in Cork.

Technical details (for philatelists) :