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Tag Archives: An Post

Ennis author shortlisted for An Post Irish Book Awards

ENNIS author Sean O’Driscoll has been named on the shortlist for this year’s An Post Irish Book Awards. His book Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante, Bomber has been nominated in the Odgers Berndtson Non-fiction Book of the Year category. His book tells the astonishing story of Rose Dugdale. She grew up in a Chelsea townhouse and on a Devon estate and was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace as a debutante in 1958. Rose trained at Oxford as an academic economist and had a love affair with a female professor. At thirty, she commenced giving her inheritance away to the poor and in 1972 she travelled to Ireland and joined the IRA. She went on to become a committed terrorist, participating in a major art heist and a bombing raid on a police and army barracks; who kept a pregnancy secret for nine months in prison and gave birth there; and who ended up at the heart of the IRA’s bomb-making operation …

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Clareman’s cryptic clues bringing the best out of An Post

A CLAREMAN who has been testing the resourcefulness of the Irish Postal Service with vague addresses for the past five years has reported another successful delivery. Gearoid Kelly and his friend, Tony McTigue, eschewing things like eircodes and actual addresses, have set an annual challenge for An Post with their correspondence. The pair have been sending postcards and letters with the likes of the following written on them: “That lad who studied commerce in NUIG who used to be in TradSoc, played in the Crane on Tuesdays, lives in Dublin now for the past few years, see him on Facebook a lot with dinosaur costume, Tulla…. or perhaps Feakle? Anyhow, just get this to East Clare and they will know who I am on about, Ireland” Even that level of obfuscation failed to stop An Post successfully delivering the letter. This year’s effort, however, needed a second sending, before it found its target, having first been sent in November 2020 …

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Broadford steps up the pressure on post office

BROADFORD Post Office was just one of four nationwide that closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, it emerged this week. Deputy Cathal Crowe has called on An Post to review this branch closure after representatives from An Post appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications recently. Deputy Crowe disputed claims the post office was closed due to Covid-19 or contractual changes. “When I asked about the reasons behind the closure, a number of policies were laid out to me – distance between branches, size of communities and so on. This, however, is not the reasoning behind Broadford’s case,” said Deputy Crowe. “There had been a commitment to keep Broadford open and only for personal reasons necessitating the postmaster’s retirement, this branch would be open today. “So it is incorrect to say that Broadford’s closure has been a result of Covid-19 or contractual changes or so on. “I believe there is cherry picking going on here and I don’t …

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Posted in the community’s heart

Last Friday saw the retirement of Margaret Keane, after more than 50 years working at Kilkee Post Office, having been postmistress for 34 of them. Her retirement marks the end of an era in Kilkee, with the post office now moving into a local grocery shop. Here, Margaret reflects on a long career which saw many changes. OVER half a century ago, as a young teenager living in the Burren and a pupil at Ennis Vocational School, I could not have conceived how my life was about to change as a result of reading The Clare Champion. I was reading through the “Situations Vacant” column and I came across an ad which caught my eye. It was for a 15-year-old girl wanted to train in a busy post office. I did not know where in Clare the post office was located, as it only listed a box number. I wasn’t really looking for a job at the time as I …

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All change in Kilkee as Post Office moves to new home

IT is the end of one era – and the beginning of another – in Kilkee with the moving of the coastal town’s post office to brand new location. On Friday, Margaret Keane will retire as post mistress in Kilkee, having worked there for over 50 years, and the town’s stand-alone post office on O’Connell Street will come to a close. However, the postal service is set to continue in the popular seaside resort, moving to another long standing institution of the town, Haugh’s shop on O’Curry Street. The new post office will open its doors in Haugh’s on Tuesday with preparations now being finalised for the unveiling next week. Carmel Muldoon of Haugh’s explained that the retirement of Mrs Keane meant that the operation of the postal service in Kilkee went up for tender, and Haugh’s were delighted to be successful in their application. She stressed the importance of services like the post office to local communities saying, “With …

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More Services Sought To Safeguard Future of Clare Post Offices

CONCERN has been expressed about the lack of information being provided to Clare postmasters about the exact amount they will be paid, if a new alliance with Bank of Ireland is agreed and implemented. Kildysart native, Tom O’Callaghan of Independent Postmasters’ Group said it looked as if postmasters are being offered a relatively small payment to complete all Bank Of Ireland branch services in post offices. Mr O’Callaghan said a community banking model would be more sustainable, providing funding for small and medium enterprises and localcommunities. The provision of banking though the Post Office Network will require initial investment. National Treasury Management Agency has more than €23 Billion in deposits, which could be incentivised for investment to public banking. He stressed new measures are needed to safeguard the the post office network in Clare and prevent further closures. His concern comes after another setback for the Broadford Action Group’s efforts to reverse the closure of the local post office, which …

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Broadford Post Office Closure A “Callous Act”

A COMPREHENSIVE business case for the retention of Broadford Post Office is being compiled by a local action group as part of a new campaign to get An Post to reverse its closure. The Broadford Action Group has described the decision of An Post to take advantage of the retirement of postmaster James O’Brien by confirming they will not be continuing a postal service in the village as a very “callous act”. A Zoom meeting hosted by Senator Timmy Dooley, with An Post recently, was attended by Clare deputies Joe Carey, Michael McNamara, Cathal Crowe, Senator Martin Conway, Councillors, Joe Cooney, Pat Hayes, Tony O’Brien, Pat Burke, Alan O’Callaghan, BCAG members, Emer Smith, Martin Cooper, Aonghus O’Brien, Aidan O’ Brien and P J Mason. Following the meeting, An Post agreed to accept a submission from the group on why a post office service, which was first established in the village in 1831, should be retained. BAG chairman, P J Mason stressed …

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Quirky challenge tests local knowledge of Clare’s postal staff

TWO Clare men have been keeping postal staff on their toes with a series of riddles designed to test their local knowledge. Gearóid Kelly from Feakle and Tony McTeigue from Kilnamona have exchanged Christmas cards over the last five years. Rather than simply writing a name and address on the envelope, the pair have taken to coming up with cryptic instructions that have, almost always, led to the successful delivery of their post. While Gearóid works in Dublin and Tony in Australia, the two have sent cards and letters to each other’s home address, in the hope that local ties will help postal staff to decipher their destinations. “We’ve known each other since going to college in NUI Galway,” Gearóid told The Champion. The Business Information Systems graduate, an accordion player, met fellow Clare native, Tony, who plays banjo, at the college’s Trad Soc. “We were always up for a laugh and a few practical jokes alright,” he said. Now …

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