The dying of the light in Kilnaelck's post office
Thomas Lyons
It's coming up to to 10am on Friday morning. From 6pm the previous day the news headlines flagged every hour that 161 postmasters applied to An Post for a voluntary retirement package.
Just numbers and statistics, but in Kilnaleck Post office the reality of such numerical details spills into people's lives. Anne McPhilips is a postperson calling into the office in the course of her morning's work. She is engaging in the little tasks that enmesh rural posts offices in the community.
Behind the counter Caroline Smith speaks to her colleague about the day's business. Anne takes a break from the business to voice her concerns about the what the closure would mean: “You may close the town. This is very serious. The bank is gone, the credit union is gone. Where are the older generation going to get their money? They can't just drive to the next post office.”
In many communities the social hub status of post offices has been changed by Men's Sheds, Active Retirement groups, community centres and GAA and sports clubs. That change is not universal: “It is a meeting point for the older people,” Caroline explains, “they all meet here on a Friday morning and have their chat. Then go on to Michael Hill's for a cup of tea. For some older people it's the only outing they have in the week.”
“The older people are the ones that spend money in the town. The young people just go to the bigger shops, they don't go into Celia's or Clarke's to do their shopping,” Anne adds.
A lady customer at the counter does not want to talk about the news, but she does say: “She's the nicest postmistress you could possibly meet. All the senior citizens get a special welcome,” before heading out the door.
It is easy to agree with this view. Caroline possesses the attributes necessary for dealing with the public; empathetic, considerate and helpful.
The quiet of early morning gives way to a constant stream of patrons from pension collectors to parcel posters to those picking up forms. One customer goes to the counter and asks: “No parcels or letters for me? Ann said that if I was out she would leave it here,” illustrating the personal touch that won't show up on an assessment of the business in Dublin.
Such details are part of community. They bridge the links between the commercial venture of a post office network and where it plugs into communities.
“We're not gone yet,” Caroline chuckles down the phone line to a customer before taking care of another piece of business. It was a caller who wanted a telly bingo ticket before the deadline, saying they would be in to collect it later.
These are the personal interactions banks are phasing out as they move toward automation, as they take the personal out of personal service. The most affected by this are the more mature citizens.
“It'll have an affect on everyone, especially older people. It's about four miles from me,” a lady says, explaining how the closure of Ballyheelan Post Office almost seven years ago saw her transfer to Kilnaleck. She believes that she will have to change again: “Now I will be sent to Bally'duff. It's an inconvenience to everyone, but they are not going to change their mind. You just have to get on with it.”
In the Kilnaleck office a queue has formed. The two seater couch that sits incongruously inside the door is occupied as the chats and catching up of the week take place.
For Alice Smith the closure is a blow. She says Caroline provides a vital link: “We know her a long time. People depend on this post office for their pensions and different things.”
Bridget Smith is not related to her name sake, but has a similar view of the consequences of the PO's closure: “It's going to close down, so what can we do? I depend on it to pay my bills. I don't know what is going to happen. I don't drive, I don't use the bus, it's going to be very hard. You doing this interview won't make one bit of difference. If they are going to close it, well they are going to close it. We will miss it greatly,” Bridget laments.
Passing through Killnaleck Micheál O'Reilly has dropped into the PO: “It would be a major loss to the town. It's a focal point for the town. I'm from Ballinagh and I find it handy when I'm passing through to just drop in to post a letter.”
Maggy Brady uses the service a lot.
“Isn't it awful, it's a terror,” she says in a hushed tone, “I am a widow for the last 21 years and I pay everything through the post office. ESB, telephone, the TV licence stamps. It's desperate.
“I don't drive. So I don't know if they are going to run a bus to Ballyjamesduff or Cavan. It will take business out of the town. People do their bits of shopping after they get the pension, so it's the small shops that will suffer,” she foresees.
Patrick Farmer's wellington boots suggest nominative determinism. His transaction at the counter completed, Patrick expresses upset at the prospect of the Kilnaleck Post Office closure: “I use it every week. It would be an awful loss.”
Incensed by the proposal Finnola McSweeney says: “If they close this I will quit eating, because I'll have to die. How the hell will I get my pension? How the hell will I get to Ballyjamesduff? I find it hard enough to get here and I only live a mile and a half out the road. We used to have a post office beside us and it was closed. If they close this post office they may send a fellow around every Friday with the pension.”
There are more that the social and community implications. The diminution of the service will have ramifications for business as well. Leeanne Fay explained: “I work in Airpacks. We are in here nearly every second day. It will definitely be a big loss. We regularly have to send off forms for schemes, if it goes it will have an impact on our work.”
This is also a theme of Anne Marie McPhilips's chat. She works in Breffni Air. The business provides vital jobs in the area: “We employ around 200 people working with us. We need the post office. I could make this trip several times in the week. If the service is lost I don't know what is going to happen to us. If I go to Cavan it is an hour and a half out of our day, if we go to Ballyjamesduff it is an hour. We just can't afford that time.
“We are providing employment, but this support is now being taken from under us. There are six or seven thriving businesses in the town and they are all depending on the service. Anytime I come into the post office there is always a queue. Its closure would be a disaster, I feel very strong about it,” Anne Marie said.
The suggestions that the delivery of services has changed is more applicable in large urban areas. In Kilnaleck it's different. When one elderly gentleman was told he could get services online he replied “the only line I have is out in the garden”.