Sad day for north Mayo village following closure of post office
The village of Geesala will be without a post office for the first time since 1867
The closure of the Geesala Post Office in north Mayo was described as another blow to the Erris community and a sad day in the history of the village.
Geesala Post Office closed its doors for the final time yesterday evening leaving the Erris community without a post office for the first time since 1867.
An Post announced last month that the post office in Geesala was to close permanently at the end of June after they failed to find a replacement for the outgoing postmaster.
Local councillor Gerry Coyle described the closure of the post office as a sad day for the village and the area with people now having to travel to Bangor Erris for the nearest Post Office.
“The position of a postmaster was advertised but sadly was not fulfilled,” the Fine Gael councillor wrote on his Facebook page.
“Over the last few months, myself, Pat Gannon and An Post have liaised with a number of people in the hope that they might be interested in taking it on but so far this has not been successful. I would have loved to have seen the Post Office taken over but sadly that has not come to fruition at this time.
“However, if you, or anyone you know, thinks they could make a go of a post office in Geesala, I would 100 percent support your endeavours and help you in any way I can to directly communicate and work with An Post.
“For now at least, a chapter of history is closed and I for one am sad to see it closed.”
Cllr Coyle thanked the outgoing postmaster, Pat Gannon and his staff for the wonderful job in keeping the post office going after the passing of the previous postmaster, Michael Henry who he described as a genius.
“We used to all be in awe at Michael’s ability to speedily add up the price of whatever your shop was, while informing you of the world’s current affairs, the GAA results and throwing in a cùpla focal gaeilge at the same time! Michael was the postmaster for 38 years without ever missing a day before his sad passing in 2018. It feels like only yesterday that telephone calls would come through the post office exchange, facilitated by the Henry family,” he said.
Members of the local community also lamented the closure of the post office with the local hurling club, Gaeltacht Iorrais thanking Pat and his staff for the support they gave the club.
“Geesala Post Office closes its doors for the final time in another blow to the barony, but particularly to Geesala and the surrounding area. It's a loss we'll feel directly in the club. Since day one of our lotto Pat, Edel and Sheila have supported us by allowing us to promote the lotto and sell tickets there. It is also where we posted cheques to our many winners, and bought other items vital to the running of the club. That always seemed fitting given that Michael Henry always had a great love of Gaeilge, the GAA and Hurling,” they wrote on their Facebook page.
The Geesala National School Parents Association also posted on Facebook saying the post office will be missed by everyone in the village.
“The children were regular visitors to the Post Office on the many walks and outings they had in our village during the school year. Many a treat and ice cream was enjoyed at a Post Office visit,” they wrote.