Ballintubber bitter over Post Office closure

The closure notice which was placed on Ballintubber Post Office last week.

Ballintubber locals feel ‘let down’ by An Post


Deirdre Gavin

Residents of the historc village of Ballintubber, home of Ireland’s oldest still-used abbey which attracts thousands of tourists anually are up in arms over the arbitrary closure of their post office by An Post.
Local people have expressed their disappointmentover the way their local post office has been closed. The post office, which ceased business on Friday, had been run by Maura Kelly. Local people say that they feel let down by An Post, as they were informed of the closure by a notice in the post-office window.
Speaking to The Mayo News, Chairman of Community Council Thomas Berry said: “We’re very disppointed, they are leaving us with nothing, there is no reason why transactions cannot be moved to a local business.”
At a Local Area County Council meeting, Cllr Cyril Bourke stated: “People aren’t using their local services enough – they need to do their transactions locally to keep businesses open.”
A spokesperson for An Post said that while the decision was ‘unfortunate’, it was logical. “The post office closed as the postmistress sought retirement and social welfare payments will now be made at Partry post office, although the decision is an unfortunate one, it was a small office with low volumes of business which can easily be moved locally.”
Thomas Berry, disagrees, however. He pointed out that many find it hard to travel for necessities. “The older people in the area are unable to even get to Castlebar. They do everything locally – all their shopping and transactions.”
Commenting on lack of communication about the closure from An Post, Mr Berry said: “The least they could have done was inform everyone (by writing to those) in the postal area, instead of a putting poster in the window. An Post should know all about communication, but clearly they don’t.”
In a bid to keep the postal service in Ballintubber, the local community council has identified a business premises close to the village of Ballintubber that may be interested in applying for the post office franchise from An Post.
However, An Post said seeking another post mistress or master to fill the post is not viable, and it has confirmed that its decision is final.
The Community Council is not accepting the An Post decision and is now considering taking the matter up with local TDs, including Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister of State Michael Ring.