OUTDOORS Ballycroy National Park on new stamp

Ballycroy gets stamp of approval


Mayo’s Ballycroy National Park is one of six of Ireland’s best national parks, celebrated in a special stamp series this month.
The stamps, designed by Steve Simpson, feature Ballycroy National Park as well as Connemara, The Burren, Glenveigh, Killarney and Wicklow parks and are based on photographs by international photographer Walter Pfeiffer.
Also issued to accompany the stamp set are three first day covers, two sets of mini sheets and a prestige booklet featuring the stamps and a wealth of background information about Ireland’s National Parks.
Each of these items is available from leading post offices, at www.irishstamps.ie or from the Irish Stamps shop in Dublin’s GPO, telephone 01 7057400.
Ballycroy, The Burren and Connemara feature on 55c stamps with Glenveigh, Killarney and Wicklow each shown on 82c stamps.
Ballycroy National Park, established in 1998, is a vast, unspoilt wilderness dominated by the Nephin Beg mountains. The 11,000-hectare park also includes the Owenduff bog, one of the last intact blanket bog systems in Western Europe.
In July 2009,  the Ballycroy National Park Visitor Centre opened its doors to the public.
The state-of-the-art centre, which contains interactive displays giving the visitor a sense of the remote beauty of the national park, is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5.30pm.
Entry is free.