The death of a village
A Post Office in a rural village is much more than a place to post a letter or pay a bill.
The postal transactions are just one side of the story. The social interactions are the other, and in many cases, mean so much more to customers. Cliffoney Post Office on the main street of the North Sligo village is no exception. Described by the post mistress as the ‘social hub’ of the area, it looks increasingly likely as if it will have to close.
Susan Finan says: “I’ve been here for 11 years open all week as a vital service for the community.”
Last Tuesday morning there was a steady footfall of locals in and out of the premises.
One man told Jimmy, who works behind the counter when Susan is off, “Why don’t they bypass Cliffoney altogether? If we lose our post office we’ ll be a ghost town. There’ ll be nothing in it, we’ ll be no better than a graveyard.”
Among the usual envelopes and cards are colourful crafts by local artists, such as crochet blankets and lamps.
Susan says she likes to help them out by selling their wares. This adds to the charm of the place.
“I think it is devastating for the village,” says Susan, “This is a social place, a nice place to be. The community is lovely, I enjoy it. I would like to see the post office continue for the community as much as for me. This is the focal point of the village.”
Susan who is originally from Sligo town moved to Cliffoney to run the Post Office: “People know me and they tend to trust us. It is a one stop hub.”
She explains that the latest census for Cliffoney from 2016 put the village population at 492 and because An Post say a Post Office needs a population of 500 to make it viable, Cliffoney could lose out.
“I was not offered a new contract,” from An Post,” she stresses, “I would need to sign one of the new contracts to make continuing running the post office viable for me as a business.”
Susan adds: “I think the people deserve a Post Office. Services are just being moved further away. I accept that rural Ireland does not have the footfall of a bigger town but people still deserve the service.
Customer and manager of the local craft shop ‘ The Crafters Basket’ in Cliffoney says she will miss the service if it goes.
“We sell craft supplies, knitting fabrics and we have an online shop. We post out to people. I use the post office every day with online deliveries.
“It would mean I’d have to drive to Grange. As a local business it is really going to inconvenience me,” she explains.
Jimmy Hone who works at the Post Office concludes: “Closing would sound the deathknell of the village.”