In advance of International Women’s Day on Monday next, An Post has issued a new stamp celebrating the renowned 19th century Irish nationalist and feminist writer, Jane, Lady Wilde (1821-1896) whose pen-name was ‘Speranza’.
She came to prominence in famine-stricken Ireland in 1848 when she wrote an unsigned revolutionary editorial in ‘The Nation’, the organ of the Young Ireland movement which prompted the suppression of the newspaper.
Unveiling the stamp, Debbie Byrne, Managing Director of An Post Retail said that Jane Lady Wilde was a women who epitomised the meaning of #ChoosetoChallenge, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day. “She was a tireless and outspoken campaigner for women’s rights, equality and other causes.”
The colourful new stamp by Design HQ and a special First Day Cover envelope is available at main post offices and anpost.com/shop.
Aside from her writing under the pen-name ‘Speranza’, Jane,Lady Wilde was a multi-linguist, translator and staunch advocate of women’s rights. Among the many causes she championed were improved rights for married women and more practical clothing for females whose movement and health were so impacted by the restrictive attire of the era.
In 1851, she married William Wilde, an ophthalmic surgeon, and their second-born son was the playwright and novelist, Oscar Wilde