Just as NewsFour was going to press we heard the shocking news about the proposed closure of the Ringsend Post Office, effectively tearing the heart out of a community which is already lacking in amenities.

People are not going to take this lying down. On Friday May 22nd, a huge public meeting was held at the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre. Representatives attended from all the political parties: Chris Andrews, Sarah Ryan and Vicky Crosby from Fianna Fáil, Daithí Doolan of Sinn Féin, Kevin Humphreys and Maria Parodi from Labour and Claire Wheeler of The Green Party A representative from An Post, Angus Laverty, was also present.

As a measure of how seriously local people are taking this, about 350 residents of Ringsend and Irishtown attended.

It was universally agreed that moving the Post Office from Ringsend to Barrow Street was a very bad idea, given the fact that many local residents are elderly or are single parents with young children. Walking from Irishtown to Barrow Street over Ringsend bridge could take some people as long as 45 minutes.

Residents pointed out that the Post Office is the centre of their community, an amenity that many people use every day. It is more than a place of business, it is a place where people get a chance to meet and talk.

Councillor Humphreys cited the example of Ranelagh, where the closure of the local branch had a knock-on effect on other small traders in the area, stripping the locality of its shops.

The good news, for the time being anyway, is that the office will not be closing immediately. Closing the meeting, Daithí Doolan said that he and the other local representatives have decided to create a cross-party group to petition Minister Eamon Ryan in order to keep Ringsend Post Office in Ringsend. Meanwhile, Angus Laverty of An Post will be looking into other possible locations for a new Post Office in the village.