VIDEO: Civic honours for Cork’s naked cyclists

“Only in Cork,” a woman said, shaking her head as 50 naked cyclists, painted as mermaids and steam-punk robots, or with hippie-inspired flower designs, whooped their way up Patrick Street.

Car horns honked, mobile phones came out and bystanders burst into fits of giggles as the rebel pedallers waved and smiled.

Cork’s annual Naked Bike Ride, now in its eighth year and timed to mark the start of Bike Week 2016, may be the only such spectacle in Ireland but it’s actually one of hundreds taking place each year.