The Importance of Supporting Your Local Post Office

In just over 30 years, over 50% of post offices across Ireland have closed.

That’s no exaggeration; in 1992, we had 1907 post offices. As of 2023, there are 933. And in all of Duhallow, there are just 7.

It’s hard to believe, but if you think about it, post office closures are a discussion that disproportionally affects rural areas.

On paper, the plans are fair; any closed post office has to have another within 15km in any community of under 500. However, 15km is a long walk and with no public transport in most areas, you’re left stranded unless you drive. It sounds unreasonable to make such an essential service so difficult to access.

Because it is!

Regardless of the grants and efforts, An Post CEO David McRedmond says closures are inevitable.

Some closures can’t be helped; people retire and there’s no one to take over. But in many cases, the lack of business is the nail in the coffin. Each transaction pays just a few cents to the post office, and with the rise of paying online and e-billing, we’ve seen a huge decline in paying for anything in the post office.

It’s a tough reality, but our climate of convenience is killing the post office, WE are.

Covid shut down face to face visits for a lot of services, and as we make our way back to what feels like normal day to day life, we kept many of our habits.

But WHY is it so essential?

“Post offices are very important to rural communities, and not just for buying stamps,” said Cllr Gobnait Moynihan, “they do so much more than that nowadays. An Post services now have ATMs and banking service without all the charges. Also they allow customers to pay ESB bills. But besides these services, post offices also end up being the social hub in a community, where people meet to do the local lotto, catch up on the news, and meet others in their communities. These interactions are vital to combat social isolation. The post offices also tend to provide food shop as well. The key to post offices surviving is to support them, we need to shop local as much as possible.”

For many in rural areas, the local post office does it all - in older communities especially, it’s a staple of their week. For those who don’t drive, the ease of access in walking back the road for their few messages and their pension offers routine.

But it’s far from just a draw for the older generations.

All manner of bills can be paid in the post office, as well as your TV and dog licence. Money transfers and general banking are exceptionally important in communities affected by bank closures. And they offer their own An Post bank account - another huge benefit in bankless areas. And that’s only SOME of the services offered.

Small business owners also see huge benefit from the physical office. The bulk purchase of stamps makes the strain a little easier, and many find just having a person there face to face lessens their shipping worries.

And of course, there’s the social aspect.

For a huge number of people throughout the community, the do their run into town all together - post office, shops, and maybe a quick cuppa. And it’s in those

spaces, post offices become a social hub. I’m sure we’ve all said we’ll have a quick run into the post office and ended up nattering away!

In many cases, post offices that close move into local shops, such as in Ballydesmond and most recently, Newmarket. But this isn’t always able to save our Post offices. We need to be the ones to act, but how? One word: transactions. Each one pays just a few cents, but if everyone did just one transaction in the month in their local post office, it would be enough to save some areas. And it doesn’t have to be anything big - sent money, pay a bill, even buy a few stamps ahead of time for Christmas!

It is up to us to save our post offices. It’s not out of our hands yet.

Services offered by the post office

• Post and parcel services

• One4All

• Money transfer

• Bill payment

• Western Union

• Everyday banking

• Currency exchange

• Mobile services

• TV Licence

• Social Welfare payments

• Dog licence

• Business licence

• Garda Fines

• Passport

• Property tax

• Post Office Bank Account services

Newmarket Postmistress Marion Murphy locking up for the final time on Friday, Feb. 10th.

Marion Murphy with her husband Councillor Gerard Murphy and Manager Karen Field celebrating the move to the brand new Post Office within the SuperValu premises.

The Post Office Locations In Duhallow

In just over 30 years, over 50% of post offices across Ireland have closed. That’s no exaggeration; in 1992, we had 1907 post offices. As of 2023, there are 933. And in all of Duhallow, there are just 7. It’s hard to believe, but if you think about it, post office closures are a discussion that disproportionally affects rural areas.