Post Office in Offaly closes with no replacement location found

KINNITTY Post Office closed its doors to the general public recently when Post Mistress Breda Byrne worked her final day after 42 years in the role.

Locals gathered at the Post Office and in Giltrap's Pub to thank Breda for her excellent service over the decades and to wish her the best in her retirement.

Local Councillor John Clendennen said Breda had been “a phenomenal cornerstone of the community,” who contributed to the economic and social wellbeing of the area. “She was always very friendly and accommodating, allowing locals to put up notices or posters if we wished. For 42 years she ran an excellent post office, where you could collect your pension, your social welfare, pay your electricity bill, buy stamps, toys and cards. She will be sorely missed.”

The Councillor posted a video online in which he thanked Breda for her many years of invaluable service. He also got a final stamp in his post office savings book, which he had been in possession of for 41 years.

Feelings among locals were mixed on Thursday because while they were very glad to pay tribute to Breda and celebrate her tenure of the role, they were also disappointed that no one has yet been found to fill the vacancy.

From this moment on there will be no Post Office services of any sort in the village and people will have to travel to either Birr or Crinkle Post Offices to collect their social welfare and pension payments, pay their electricity bills, and so on. For those who can't drive, they will either have to arrange a lift, or else take the Local Link bus which runs four to five times a day.

A public meeting to save the Post Office was held in Kinnitty Community Centre on September 4th and 130 people turned up. There was a positive mood after that meeting with a sense that a couple of people in the room might have been interested in taking on the role. However, nothing came of it.

Cllr Clendennen told The Midland Tribune that “no stone was left unturned” in trying to find a replacement Post Master/Post Mistress.

“We have worked very hard at it but unfortunately have found no one. I want to emphasise that the offer to fill the role is still very much open. An Post is still very much open to keeping the facility in the village if a person and a premises do come forward.”

He pointed out that the village has seen an increase in footfall in recent years, due to tourists availing of the mountain biking and walking trails in the area.

“Peavoy's, the coffee shop, has been open for five years and has been a roaring success; therefore there's an opportunity to be seized”.

At the September 4th meeting An Post said it is prepared to offer the village what is known as a Post Point Retailer Services solution to any interested retailer where local people will be able to purchase stamps, avail of mail and parcel drop off, bill payment and mobile top up services. However it became apparent during the meeting that this watered down version of the regular service wasn't a very popular option; and that the preferred model of service delivery would be to have a stand-alone post office in the village.

Prior to the September 4th meeting Kinnitty GAA Club sent letters to a number of local representatives expressing their concern about the closure.

The meeting was told that the PO played a very important social role in the community for the people of a wide area including Clareen and Drumcullen; and it was one of the village's “essential fulcrums.”

The meeting was told that “many are agreed” that the closure would have a “devastating effect” on the area. It was pointed out that over recent years the village has lost five shops, two draperies, and three petrol pumps.

“Our Post Office is a lifeline for many, a vital service for the elderly and those without transport,” one attendee pointed out.

“To lose it would see the further erosion of our rural community. We need to put a stop to this erosion, this decline.”

Hugh O'Connor from An Post's Regional Office in Portlaoise attended via zoom.

“We want to keep the Post Office going,” he said, “and we want to find a retail partner who will keep the service going.”

He said people who run Post Offices are not direct employees of An Post, but are “contractors” who provide the premises themselves and enter into a commission with An Post whereby the more services they provide each day, the more transactions over the counter, the more money they receive. “Once someone comes forward and he or she is genuinely committed then we get into the financial and practical details of the service. We will provide the computers, CCTV and safes. The responsibility for the stocks and the cost of insurance lies with An Post. However, the contractor will need to provide public liability insurance for the customer area.”

He pointed out that the minimum space required to run a service is 3 metres by 4 metres.

He said An Post is not a massively wealthy company like the Banks, and in 2018, because it was “running into financial trouble” it had to close 150 Post Offices.

“Things are pretty steady now and we are planning to expand our services into new areas, such as banking and foreign exchange. Packets and parcels will remain a major thing. The future looks bright.”