Shamrock Irish Heritage playing cards
A celebration of some of Ireland’s most famous patriots, politicians and poets.
The personalities chosen to appear on this pack are certainly diverse, including Ireland’s most famous king, Brian Boru, and the third president, Eamonn De Valera, on the Kings, Molly Malone (the main character in the Irish folk song “Cockles and Mussels”) as one of the Queens, and Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift and W.B. Yeats (misspelt ‘Yeates’) on the Jacks. Oscar Wilde is depicted on the Jokers. The back design features a harp superimposed on a map of Ireland against either a green or a blue background, with a shamrock in each of the four corners. The overall style is very similar to that of other non-standard bridge sets from Piatnik. Piatnik No. 214745.
Above: Shamrock Irish Heritage playing cards made by Piatnik, Vienna, Austria, 1999. 2 x 52 cards + 3 Jokers in drop-lid box. Size: 58.5 x 89 mm.
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By Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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