The Irish Government tonight approved two new postage stamps to mark the 400 thanniversary the Plantation of Ulster next year.
A total of 38 stamps covering 21 topics were approved by the Taoiseach and his ministers at today's weekly Cabinet meeting in Dublin this evening.
The Plantation of Ulster, decreed by King James I in 1609, drew thousands of English and Scottish settlers to Northern Ireland following the flight to Europe of Gaelic landowners.
Other events being commemorated by An Post postal during 2009 include the Chinese New Year and the 400th anniversary of the city status of Kilkenny.
Also featured on stamps will be the centenary of the ITGWU and the bicentenary of the birth naturalist Charles Darwin. Irish high crosses, novelist Anthony Trollope's period in Ireland and the centenary of the birth of artist Francis Bacon.
The stamps will now be designed and printed and be launched during 2009.