post box

Freestanding cast-iron pillar post-box on circular-plan, erected 1922 - 46. Cylindrical drum with moulded necking having dentilled frieze, projecting letter slot, moulded and slightly projecting base, and having shallow domed capping over. Foundry stamp to base now illegible. Raised lettering above letter flap reading 'Next Collection' and ‘An Chead Bhailiú Eile’. Erected on footpath to the south of the centre of Buncrana.

An attractive item of street furniture that represents an early surviving artefact of mass-produced cast-iron ware and street furniture. The modest design of the pillar box is enhanced by the various decorative moulded detailing, such as the fluted cap, and by the raised lettering, which enliven this otherwise functional object. The raised ' P&T' motif (Department of Posts and Telegraphs) in Celtic Revival-style script and the raised lettering over the letter flap add additional interest. The raised Gaelic script over the letter flap suggests that this particular box may date to after c. 1935. Although the foundry mark is now illegible, this box was probably cast by the Carron Company of Stirlingshire, Scotland, who were responsible of many such post boxes in Ireland. This pillar box may have been move to its present location from another site in the town. This prominently-sited pillar box now acts a subtle and well-made historical artefact, adding aesthetic incident to the streetscape to the south of the centre of Buncrana. It is one of the few pillar boxes still surviving in County Donegal.