CROKE PARK was not the only place where you could find winning cats at the weekend.
A quartet of stamps featuring feline characters drawn by The Irish Timescartoonist Martyn Turner won the Stampilou Prizeat the Grand Prix de L'Art Philatelique in Brussels on Saturday.
The 55c and 78c stamps were issued by An Post last September and feature the artist's interpretation of a Fat Cat, a Celtic Tigress, a couple of Cool Catsand, not surprisingly, a very satisfied Kilkenny Cat.
Turner produced a mini-sheet which features the stamps alongside a cat looking at posters for acts such as the Pussycat Dolls, Catatonia and Puss'n Boots.
The Stampilouis awarded to the best youth-related stamp in the European Union.
An Post described the award as "a huge honour for Ireland".
Turner said he was "quite surprised" when he received the award.
"I believe there were 45 entries," he said. The Celtic cats were his first foray into philatelic artistry.
He was approached by a stamp committee in An Post a few years ago to provide his impression of the domestic "Celtic cat".
An Post spokeswoman Anna McHugh said Turner's Celtic cats were among the most popular stamps ever issued by An Post.
"They were huge sellers. The Kilkenny cat stamp sold out completely." She said An Post stamps had won philatelic artistry prizes before, but this was "a huge honour to be recognised by a top international philatelic award."
A jury of philatelic and artistic experts picked the Celtic cats issue for the Stampilouaward. The cartoonist received his award from Niall Brady, first secretary at the Irish Embassy in Brussels on Saturday evening.
Turner, a graduate of Queen's University, Belfast is a former magazine editor and has produced 17 books.
However, he is best known for his work as a political cartoonist.
He has been contributing cartoons to The Irish Timessince 1971 and became the paper's political cartoonist in 1976.
Producing a new stamp is a two year process and An Post is now working on its 2010 collection.
Ms McHugh encouraged the public to suggest stamp subjects such as event commemorations and anniversaries, but she said that they would have to relate to events taking place from 2011 onwards.
