Soccer star Roy Keane and singer Van Morrison are to feature on new Irish euro postage stamps.
The first of the new stamps go on sale from January 1st, and costing 38 cents, they represent a marginal saving on the current price of 30 pence.
Manchester United's Keane, who also captains the Irish soccer squad, will feature with previous international heroes David O'Leary, Paul McGrath and Packie Bonner, to coincide with Ireland's World Cup finals campaign in June.
Rock's Morrison, together with other Irish showbiz legends like Bono, of U2, and the late Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher, are scheduled to appear in October.
A spokeswoman for the An Post postal company tonight forecast that the stamps would be big sellers.
She said: "Irish stamps are hugely popular with collectors around the world because of the time and detail we put into them. And we expect a big interest in these series, in particular because of the themes."
The soccer and rocker stamps will be followed by a series commemorating the 250th anniversary of steeplechasing in Ireland, and display racehorses like Arkle, Dawn Run, L'Escargot and Istabraq.
PA