*Photograph: Joe Buckley
SHANNON’s post office has relocated to a new setting within the town centre.
Now situated between Alexandra Dental and Dunnes Stores opposite Insomnia Café, the post office is in a smaller but more cost effective setting which will preserve the future of the service within the town.
Deirdre Barry serves as the postmaster for the relocated post office which officially opened on Tuesday morning with huge queues gathered in the shopping centre for its 11am reopening.
Clare TD, Donna McGettigan (SF) was among those to visit the new post office. She told The Clare Echo of the importance for the town in maintaining the service. “This is the hub of the town, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable, sometimes it is the only place they go on a day out when they come into the town centre, as we know this is a closed-in town centre so they can walk around, meet their friends and have a coffee while they are down, if this service was taken away then that would be an outlet taken from them. It is very important for the people of Shannon and the staff to have the facility kept here”.
While it is often said the post office can serve as a focal point in rural settings in the country, Deputy McGettigan stated that the same applies in urban locations such as Shannon. “This is the main place where people come in Shannon, if it didn’t have the post office it would mean people would have to go outside the town to get their facilities which would mean they wouldn’t end up shopping here, they wouldn’t stay for a cup of coffee, have a chat or meet friends and socialise”.
According to Shannon’s first TD the social aspect of post offices cannot be taken for granted. It follows Clarecastle and Carrigaholt reopening post offices in recent weeks. “This isn’t just about buying and selling stamps or getting letters posted, for some people it is their day out, it is the day when they meet their friends, the day they socialise and feel like they have something to do on a daily basis”.
Her constituency office is also located within the town centre so Donna believed maintaining the footfall from the post office in the shopping centre would help economic activity in Shannon. “Anything that keeps anything open within the town centre and keeps the footfall going here and the whole social aspect of the town here, it is well needed and I’m glad for the staff”.
Gallery of photographs by Joe Buckley
