post box

Freestanding cast-iron pillar postbox, erected c. 1960. Shallow domed cap with dentillated rim, moulded neck and plinth. 'P&T' monogram in Gaelic script to door to front (south-west) face, maker's insignia to rear of plinth: 'G.L. Murphy Ireland Ltd Gorey'. Set to concrete footpath within residential area.

This is an interesting item of street furniture, which manifests the artisanship involved in the mass-production of cast-ironware in the early twentieth century. Moulded detailing and lettering subtly enliven what might otherwise have been a solely utilitarian object. The 'P&T' cipher represents the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, and indicates that this postbox was cast in the post-Independence era, the Gaelic script suggestive of a desire to foster a sense of national pride. Unusually, this box was cast by an Irish company, whose insignia to the rear lends contextual interest to the piece, and indicates that it was cast between the late 1940s and 1981, when G.L. Murphy Ltd was in operation. It is an aesthetically pleasing focal point on the streetscape.