AN POST HAS launched a new stamp to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.
The World War One battle claimed the lives of more than 1 million soldiers, many of them Irish.
The stamp is already on sale and will be used for international postage.
It carries an image of the Royal Irish Rifles that is currently on display at Britain’s Imperial War Museum in London.
The Battle of the Somme
The Somme was one of the fiercest battles of WWI, stretching from the start of July right through into November.
A total of 3,500 Irish soldiers were killed in the battle, coming from the Irish Division and the Ulster Division of the British Army.
While there was huge suffering on both sides, the battle did not allow either to gain the strategic upper hand.
An Post has said that the stamps will be of particular interest to anyone who might have had an ancestor who fought in the battle.
Anyone looking to get their hands on the stamps can do so in main post offices and online at IrishStamps.ie.
Read: Here’s how the world’s media saw our 1916 Rising celebrations
Also: Family legends, ghosts, and nuns: The real Irish lives of WWI
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