Irish Immigration - Joint issue.

On February 26, 1999, the U.S. Postal Service and Ireland Post released a joint stamp on Irish Immigration. The U.S stamp was released in Boston, with a special ceremony in Chicago.The irish stamp was released in Cobh, a port city approximately 120 miles south of Dublin from where the majority of the emigration ships departed for America.

In the 114 years between 1815 and 1929, nearly six million immigrants sailed across the ocean in huge vessels searching for new opportunities in North America. The five-year period between 1845 and 1850 marked the height of the migration out of Ireland. During the Great Famine more than a million Irish died of starvation and disease when a fungus destroyed the Irish potato crop, which the population depended on as the main ingredient in their diet.

The stamp depicts a large ship sailing into a harbor as seen from a dock. The words "IRISH IMMIGRATION 33 USA" in the U.S stamp and the words "IRISH EMIGRATION 45 EIRE" are featured in the Irish Stamp.

Thanks, Sandra for the beautiful cover which is a valuable addition to my collection.