New stamps celebrating Irish women medics past and present were issued by An Post in time for International Women’s Day 2026. This special collection recognises the pioneering achievements of women in medicine who have played a crucial role in improving health care standards for women throughout Ireland. Their efforts include advocacy for the inclusion of women in medical professions, championing female leadership in healthcare, and advancing the well-being of women since before the foundation of the State.
This set of four stamps honours:
• Doctor Emily Winifred Dickson (1866-1944), who in 1893 became the first woman Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
• Doctor Kathleen Lynn (1874-1955), who in 1919 co-founded St. Ultan’s Infant Hospital, managed entirely by women.
• Professor Rhona Mahony (contemporary), Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Fetal Medicine Specialist. From 2012-2018, the first woman Master of the National Maternity Hospital.
• Professor Janice Walshe (contemporary), Consultant Medical Oncologist and National Principal Investigator for many international breast cancer trials.
Following reform of the Medical Act in 1876, women in Ireland could become qualified medics. In 1877, the King and Queen’s College of Physicians in Ireland (now the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland) became the first institution in Britain and Ireland to allow women take licensing exams, followed in 1885 by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Despite limited opportunities and widespread discrimination, women medics made great strides. In Ireland today, about 40% of doctors are women.
Designed by Oonagh Young of Design HQ, the stamps are in the hues of surgical scrubs, with black-and-white photographs of each medic and images evoking her medical speciality. Together with a special First Day Cover envelope, they are on sale at selected post offices and online at anpost.com/shop in the new ‘E’ rate for postage to the UK and Europe and ‘N’ rate, for postage within the island of Ireland.
