post box

Cast-iron post box, c. 1940, with ‘P&T’ cipher in raised Gaelic script to the base and a round-headed top with ‘Letters Only’ in raised lettering. Set into rendered gate pier outside of former rural school (not in survey). Located to the north of Granard. Still in use.

An attractive item of street furniture that represents an early surviving artefact of mass-produced cast-iron ware. The modest design of the box is enhanced by the various raised elements and by the rounded top. It probably dates to after c. 1937 as earlier post Independence post boxes more commonly had a ‘SE’ cipher. The Gaelic lettering represents a subtle example of the strong promotion of an indigenous national identity by the newly independent state. Increasingly rare as older post boxes are replaced, this is a notable example of a post box from the early days of the state. Sited beside a disused primary school, it would have been an important social feature at a busy site. This is an unusual form of post box, having a rounded top, and is possibly the only example of its type still extant in County Longford.