An Post salutes AA Ireland’s 100

13 October 2010

The Automobile Association began in Ireland in 1910 at a time when the country had 90,000 km of roads but just 7,870 registered motor vehicles. Today AA Ireland boasts 550,000 customer relationships, a high tech patrols fleet, a wide range of insurance products and the renowned AA Roadwatch.

“AA Ireland has come a long way since our first meeting at College Green in 1910, and while we are very much looking ahead on the eve of our next 100 years, what better way to celebrate our legacy than with a stamp depicting one of our legendary saluting AA patrolmen,” says Pat Kiely, AA Ireland’s CEO.

The stamp and first day cover (FDC) designed by Q Design and featuring a photograph of an AA patrolman in full uniform giving the traditional AA salute may be viewed and purchased online at www.irishstamps.ie, at main post offices and the GPO Dublin.

The first AA patrols arrived in Ireland in the mid 1920’s. Their distinctive yellow and black combination motorcycles were the country’s first rescue service for motorists and the predecessors of today’s modern fleet.  The patrols would literally traverse along a given route watching out for any AA members in trouble or in need of help. Until the entire fleet was mechanized at the end of the decade, some AA Patrols made their rounds by bicycle!

During World War I and the Irish War of Independence, private motoring virtually stopped, but in 1924, two years after the Irish Free State came into being, the AA was revived. It issued the first road book of Ireland in 1931. By 1950, the organisation had 19,200 members.

Motoring and motor vehicles are popular topics with philatelists so An Post is expecting strong demand for the new stamp and First Day Cover from stamp collectors and motoring enthusiasts worldwide. 

 

Note to Editors…
AA Salute
The story behind the quaint 'AA Salute' is an interesting one. In the early years of motoring prohibitively low speed limits were introduced along with speed traps to enforce them. The AA told its Members that their Patrols would warn of speed traps ahead by saluting cars with AA badges displayed. Exasperated authorities proclaimed this to be illegal, and ordered them to stop. "All right", said the AA, "We hereby inform our Members that their cars will always be saluted unless there's a speed trap ahead." The tradition endured for years.

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