LAHINCH’s post office network has been saved with a new arrangement to come into being in the coming months.
Friday (April 11th) was due to be the closing date for the post office in Lahinch, this has been starved off with a new arrangement agreed to preserve the future of the service in the North-West Clare coastal town.
Spar’s store located on Rue D’Arzon also known as Back Lane will become the new home of the post office in Lahinch. Robert Kennedy will take over as the postmaster in Lahinch in the coming months with a post office to be fitted out in the store.
Current post office services will continue on an interim basis at the post office on Main Street in Lahinch until the fit out is complete.
Outgoing postmaster, Shane Talty told The Clare Echo, “I’m happy to work with An Post and Robert to support a smooth transition which sees the service remain within the community. Thanks once again to my committed staff and customers for their continued support”. He will continue to run the Ennistymon post office.
Talty tendered his resignation in October for the contract of the post office in Lahinch. “This has been a difficult decision and one not taken lightly. The Post Office alongside our family home on the main street has been operated by three generations of our family for over seventy years,” he said at the time.
He added, “as business volumes declined, so has the revenue to run the service. In recent weeks An Post have withdrawn mail sorting services from both Lahinch and Ennistymon post offices. The combined lost income means I can no longer continue to operate the Lahinch office and sustain the financial losses associated. I had long flagged with An Post that the removal of mail sorting services would inevitably end the viability of the counter services in Lahinch, but they continued with this policy knowing it would close the office”.
A spokesperson for An Post confirmed there will be “full services” in the new post office in Lahinch when it opens.
There are currently 31 post offices operational in Co Clare. Lisdoonvarna’s post office was also recently saved at the eleventh hour.
