Limerick post office shuts its doors after 100 years in the same family
AFTER NEARLY 100 years in the family, a Limerick village post office has shut its doors, with the unit now ‘to let’.
Kildimo Post Office was in the local O’Rourke family and extended family for “as long as horses and carts were around” but now the family have been left with no choice but to close up shop. And it's a “bittersweet” feeling.
Margaret O’Rourke, daughter of Peggy, says her mother was a postmaster for over 50 years, but they had to close down due to personal circumstances and loss of sales. The family also ran a small shop inside the post office.
“Back in the day, the post office was a thriving business - it was the hub of the community,” Margaret said, as she shared many fond memories of the family business.
“My mam, Peg, her sister, Maureen Morris and her sister-in-law, Celia Costello, mostly ran it together [along with Pat Costello], and the three women were known to be there all of the time - they were gas tickets.
“It was very much a place of laughter and craic, and you just knew when you walked in the door you were going to have a laugh.”
The people who entered the front door were from all walks of life - lorry drivers, pensioners, mothers, match-goers - and Peggy also had her reliable regulars, including the school students.
“My mother had a fantastic work ethic - she worked seven days a week, and, on wet mornings, mam would go down early and open the shop at 7:30am to let the students stand in, out of the rain.”
Illness struck some years ago, around 2012, leaving Margaret technically in charge.
“The kids never forgot it, or her, and a lot of kids sent my mother cards and notes when she fell ill, which I was overwhelmed with,” Margaret said.
Her aunt Maureen was to become the face of the business, while Peggy, now 84-years-old, took a step back. Margaret kept her own job elsewhere, while keeping the post office going, from behind the scenes.
“Covid-19 hit, and we closed the shop overnight. It was a very small shop, but a lot went on there - it was a busy spot, but we had no choice because of the restrictions and the one-metre distance rule.
“Before the post office closed too, we weren’t making any money from it - it was just about paying its way.
“We still had responsibilities in terms of paying people’s wages, insurance and electricity costs, and, in general, it was a worry, as there was money kept there and burglaries are always a worry for something like this.
“The pressure is now taken off us. We are hoping there might be a bit of new life in it, in the near future.”
The government has financed An Post through a subsidy scheme for the first time ever, which came into effect in June.
The plan outlined a €30 million ‘rescue package’ for three years - €10m a year.
“We were keeping it open for the sole purpose of the community. At the time, up to 2023, if we closed it, it wasn’t being put back up for tender by An Post. That changed this year.”
With this news, other terms came with the deal, such as the ability ‘to let’ out former post office units.
Margaret said that the new government subsidy failed to cover the rise in electricity costs alone, which she describes as “the straw that broke the camel's back”.
For Margaret, a number of factors came into play which signalled the right time for a change, and the end of a “fondly-remembered” era.
“On behalf of the whole family, I want to express our heartfelt thanks to all our customers for their support over the years, and a special thank you to staff for their loyalty and commitment - most of all, to our family, for their unwavering love,” she said.