Post office in Limerick town set to close after 21 years

THE impending closure of the post office in a Limerick town, after 21 years, has caused sadness in the local community. 

Askeaton postmistress Yvonne Whelan announced the news in a post which she shared on the Askeaton Post Office Facebook page. 

Yvonne, who started working at Askeaton Post Office in 2002, said her business “just isn’t viable anymore” and that it will close for the final time this summer.

She says this is due to the “reduction in revenue” and a lack of employees. The gift shop attached, Yours Sincerely, will also be shutting its doors for the foreseeable.

The premises, which is located at St Mary’s Terrace in the town, is set to be vacant from July 31 onwards. The statement of closure states that anybody who may be interested in taking it over can apply to An Post to do so. 

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Local councillor,  Adam Teskey, said the news is disappointing: “As a public representative, I want to thank, firstly, Yvonne and her staff for their immense contribution to An Post and to the Askeaton area, to the people, and for the service it provided. 

“The Whelan and Sheahan families are both well respected members of the community - it’s a huge loss of a highly used service.”

Cllr Teskey continued by saying that he has since been in contact with An Post representatives and the intentions for the vacant building is that An Post will reappoint a new postmaster or postmistress in time, which Cllr Teskey says “has [already] been advertised”. 

In the social media post announcing her retirement, Yvonne continued to thank customers and locals for ongoing support. She says that working as a subcontractor for An Post was always a “struggle”, but that she “loved every minute” of her job. 

People of the area flocked to the comment section to wish Yvonne well on her future endeavours, with one person saying: “Yvonne, you and your staff will be hugely missed. There’s always a chat and a bit of craic in the Post Office. The Post Office has always been central to our community and you have been very supportive to all organisations”.