post box

Segmental-headed cast-iron lamp box-type post box, erected c. 1940, having 'P&T' cipher/insignia in Gaelic script the front. Still in use. Mounted to a timber pole, adjacent at Lisryan Crossroad junction, and to the south of Granard. Sited outside shop and garage.

An attractive, if simple, item of street furniture that represents an early surviving artefact of mass-produced cast-iron ware. The raised Gaelic/Celtic Revival style script is of particular interest as a reminder of the promotion of a national identity following the establishment of the Independent State. This particular design probably dates to after c. 1937 as earlier post-independence post boxes usually had a 'SE' cipher. It is located adjacent to a rural crossroad junction, a common site for post boxes for obvious reasons. It replaced an earlier British post box at this crossroad junction, which was located adjacent to the west (across road) and was associated with an early post office, now demolished (Ordnance Survey third edition six-inch map sheet 1913).