 The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state . Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world 's first postage stamps were issued in 1840 . These stamps , and all subsequent British issues , were used in Ireland until the new Irish Government assumed power in 1922 . Beginning on 17 February 1922 , existing British stamps were overprinted with Irish text to provide some definitives until separate Irish issues became available . Following the overprints , a regular series of definitive stamps was produced by the new Department of Posts and Telegraphs , using domestic designs . These definitives were issued on 6 December 1922 ; the first was a 2d stamp , depicting a map of Ireland ( including Northern Ireland , which remained a part of the United Kingdom ) . Since then new images , and additional values as needed , have produced of eight definitive series of different designs . 
