NEW POST OFFICE FOR COOLANEY
News comes as Gurteen Action Group steps up campaign to save their Post Office from closure
COOLANEY is getting a new Post Office.
An Post is advertising for the position of a new Post Master or Post Mistress in Coolaney as it qualifies under the Review of the Post Office Network with a population of over 500 residents.
They are advertising to co-locate to an existing retail business but it doesn’t exclude a stand alone business making an application.
The village already has a ‘post point’ in O’Grady’s shop.
The news was confirmed by An Post to County Councillor Marie Casserly last evening.
It comes after a week which left Gurteen fighting to save their Post Office, Ballinfull Post Office close down and Cliffoney Post Office saved. “Coolaney is a vibrant, hardworking community. They deserve it,” said Cllr Casserly.
THE west is very much awake and “ready to fight” to keep their much needed post office services.
That’s the determined message from the ‘Save Gurteen Post Office’ Action Group this week.
They are mobilising a major campaign to persuade An Post to consider giving the contract to operate Gurteen Post Office to a Third Party after the current postmistress Mary Murphy retires in mid- October.
Locals are being urged to write to An Post and anyone interested in taking on the contract is encouraged to inform An Post.
The decision to close the Post Office in Gurteen has sparked outrage.
The community hall was filled to capacity a fortnight ago as almost 500 local people came out in force to oppose the decision which came “as a complete shock” to everyone.
They are painting a van and printing posters to put up around the town.
The action group says Gurteen is “a thriving rural town with many services and well established businesses.
“The Post Office is at the centre of the community and the services it provides are used by many; young and older, socially isolated, businesses,” said Fiona Tansey of the Action Group.
They refuse to accept that it is not viable to keep the office open and are determined to retain the post office.
They have mobilised on social media, in the community and on the radio to have their voices heard and to express the concerns and dissatisfaction of the whole town and surrounding areas.
Many local businesses have expressed deep concern and said that losing the Post Office would be devastating for the town and would result in further job losses.
Further north, in Ballinfull, Postmistress Chrissy Feeney closed her doors for good last Wednesday as she retired.
Sligo Leitrim Fianna Fáil Deputy Marc MacSharry said the Government must intervene in the issue:
‘Fine Gael expect us to facilitate the passage of a Budget in October, if this is to happen we need to see a full reversal of the latest plan to shut down Rural Ireland’ – MacSharry
Deputy MacSharry has called on Government to immediately intervene in the crisis.
“The silence from Government is deafening. It is a month now since I first raised this matter and Governments silence and lack of action is appalling.
“This plan was negotiated in private by An Post and the Irish Post Masters Union who successfully negotiated a welcome and worthy retirement package for long serving members however they have no mandate or entitlement to negotiate for communities.
“These closures were never considered in Dáil Eireann and it is my intention with party colleagues to up the ante on Fine Gael and the Government in the weeks ahead to seek the full reversal of this retrograde step.”
“The timing of these closures is no accident with the Dáil in recess. 16 are closed already and by the time the Dáil returns most will have closed their doors follow- ing the retirement of the postmasters. It is essential that all these post offices are re-advertised so that someone else in all 160 communities can apply to carry the baton on and ensure that communities have access to services”
“Everyone understands that An Post have a commercial mandate and that they must balance the books.
“For this reason some €8m subvention is required to ensure that post masters are provided with a viable income and that service provision in rural and vulnerable communities is provided. In the UK 8300 post offices receive such support at an annual cost of 130m sterling – here we are talking about just 8m”
“In addition, instead of more rhetoric about the expansion of services offered by the local post offices we need to see action. Motor Tax, a role in the application process for a range of social and farming supports together with the development of a ‘Kiwi Post bank’ style third bank independent of the pillar banks must be initiated.
“Equally important is the need for all of us to use and support our local post office,” said MacSharry.