The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 years of broadcasting has been unveiled at the GPO.
An Post said the stamp which features an antenna surrounded by transmission signals "radiating across the nation", celebrates a "historic milestone in Irish cultural life" and the evolution of broadcasting over the last century.
The first radio station in the Irish Free State, 2RN, went on air on New Year’s Day 1926. Television followed on New Year’s Eve 1961 when Teilifís Éireann (later called RTÉ Television) began broadcasting.
An Post said that from its inception to its current role as the national public service media, RTÉ has remained at the heart of the story of broadcasting in Ireland.
"Today, RTÉ’s video, audio, and digital services, alongside the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, inform, engage and entertain a diverse global Irish community.
"This centenary milestone is the story of the evolution of a nation as much as it is the story of public broadcasting on our island."
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, said: "When 2RN began broadcasting, this nation was only in its infancy in the first years of independence, and with limited resources, the State prioritised finding and sharing a new voice for the nation.
"This established, here in Ireland, a medium which to this day remains one of the most accessible and engaging forms of communication and self-expression - which is as popular today as ever with the majority of people here in Ireland still listening to radio on a daily basis."
Tomorrow, RTÉ will broadcast live from the GPO to mark the anniversary.
Originally located in Little Denmark Street, 2RN moved into the GPO in 1928 and operated from there until 1976.
The broadcast will feature RTÉ 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz and Aisling, Radio 1's Today with David McCullagh, lyric fm’s The Full Score, Raidió na Gaeltachta’s Tús Áite and Radio 1’s Arena.
RTÉ's Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst said: "The recognition by An Post of 100 years of public broadcasting in Ireland and the special role public media continues to play in Ireland is so important, particularly at a time when we face much uncertainty and many challenges in the world.
"Our organisations have a significant shared history with the first public radio broadcast by the fledgling new Irish state’s on New Year’s Day 1926 being overseen by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, so the launch of a commemorative stamp by An Post is a great companion to our special RTÉ radio broadcasts from the GPO tomorrow and our programme of broadcasts and events throughout this milestone year."
