Springfield, Massachusetts 1916 Garden of Remembrance
To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising of 1916 – a bloody confrontation between Irish republicans and the British government – Senator Mark Daly of Ireland developed an program to create Gardens of Remembrance across Ireland and throughout the world, especially in areas with large Irish expatriate populations. Celebrity Irish garden designer Diarmuid Gavin developed templates that communities could use to create their own Garden of Remembrance, which he describes as "places of beauty and tranquility, of optimism and peace."
In the United States, Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania has carried the torch to ensure that such Gardens are set up across the country in 2016. The first garden to be created in the U.S. is located in Springfield, Massachusetts, featuring a five-fold Celtic knot hedge design; a ring of seven trees (to represent the Irish leaders who organized the rebellion); two flagpoles (for the U.S. and Irish flags); and a replica of the 1916 Irish declaration of independence from the United Kingdom, fashioned from black granite. To commemorate the opening of the garden, the Springfield Department of Parks arranged for a pictorial postmark on May 15, 2016.
I wanted to keep my covers simple and uncluttered. I used a concept sketch of the Springfield Garden, gave it a drop shadow, and added the closing couplet of the song "The Foggy Dew" by Canon Charles O'Neill – a eulogy for the rebels – that I have always found deeply moving
"For slavery fled, O glorious dead, when you fell in the foggy dew"
For postage, I used the 1999 Irish Immigration issue (Scott #3286) and a booklet single of the 1978 Roses issue (Scott #1737), which (coincidentally) emphasizes orange and green in its printing.
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