Friday August 5 marked the end of an era in the village of Borris-In-Ossory as the present Post Office closed its doors for the last time.
In keeping with changes made countrywide by An Post, the Post Office will now move to its new location in the Daybreak store down the street.
For post mistress Mary McDonnell, who has been in situ since September 2011, the day is tinged with sadness.
Mary took up the position following the retirement of Marie and Agnes Geoghegan who gave decades of unstinting service to the community in Borris-In-Ossory and the surrounds.
But times change, and the arrival of the electronic era of email and cashless banking, not to mention social media and texting has today greatly altered the role of the Post Office.
Nowadays, the humble format of letter writing and hand written communication has sadly all but disappeared.
Believe it or not, the first postal service in Ireland started way back in the sixteenth century.
From around 1789, mail coaches were utilised for the first time as the main mode of transport, much like the old West, but it was not until the arrival of the railway from 1834 that mail services really took off.
This coincided with the introduction of the first postage stamps, the famous ‘Penny Black’ in 1840, (so called because they were printed in sheets of 240 and cost one penny).
As for the Post Office in Borris-In-Ossory, we cannot say for certain when it first opened its doors, but what we do know is that it was up and running in 1850 (see pictures below).
On Friday, one hundred and seventy one years later, we bid farewell to post mistress, Mary McDonnell and wish her well in her new endeavours and also convey best wishes to the new Post Office.
Here’s to the next one hundred and seventy years.
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