Four of the country’s best known traditional Irish music groups have been immortalised in a new stamp collection.
The images of renowned acts Planxty, De Dannan, The Bothy Band and the Tulla Ceili Band, were captured during energetic performances on the 82 cent and 55 cent stamps.
two of the featured musicians admitted that as keen stamp collectors, they were doubly delighted to make their mark.
“Stamp collecting was my childhood hobby,” said Planxty legend Andy Irvine. “Little did I think that, one day, I might become a collectible myself.”
De Dannan musician Charlie Piggott added: “Having contributed to the promotion of traditional Irish music and as a keen philatelist, I consider it both an honour and a privilege to be celebrated on an Irish stamp."
Artist Finbarr O’Connor painted each of the acts while performing during the height of the trad revival.
The new series was unveiled to coincide with the three-day Stampa exhibition, which features more than €5 million worth of stamps. Thousands of stamp lovers from across the globe will flock to the event which takes place in the RDS until Sunday.
The four stamps are the second in a series issued by An Post to celebrate the phenomenal success of the Irish music scene during the 1970s.
The latest collection is expected to be as popular as the first, which featured toe-tapping greats The Dubliners, The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, The Chieftains and Altan.
PA