New An Post stamps celebrate cycling in Ireland

A set of new "Cycling in Ireland" stamps have been launched by An Post in recognition of the growing popularity of cycling in the country and its positive impact.

The release of the four new stamps on Thursday follows the success of the Irish paracyclists in the Rio Games - Eoghan Clifford, Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal - who won three medals for Ireland on Wednesday.

The 72c stamps showcase four different forms of cycling - commuting and safety, family and leisure, sportive and charity and high-performance and competition.

Cycling has grown hugely in popularity among all ages in recent years.

Cycling Ireland, the national governing body for cycling in Ireland, now organises 800 events annually.

Figures from the 2011 census show that between 2006 and 2011 the number of Irish people cycling to work, college or school increased from 53,960 to 61,177.

Meanwhile, membership of Cycling Ireland has risen from 6,000 to 23,000 over the past five years, with membership up 720 per cent over the past decade.

There are now 450 registered cycling clubs across Ireland.

Irish success

Cycling at an elite level is also back in the headlines, with sportsmen and women such as Dan Martin, Nicolas Roche, Sam Bennett, Ryan Mullen, Caroline Ryan, Olivia Dillon and Lydia Boylan all competing for Ireland on the world stage.

The new cycling stamps are available in all major post offices across Ireland and on www.irishstamps.ie.