post box

Rectangular cast-iron post box erected c.1905, set into limestone boundary wall of Inchicore Works Estate. Door replaced c.1930. Royal crown over aperture, and emblem of Saorstát Éireann to door. Maker's mark “W.T. ALLEN & Co LONDON” to frame. Now disused and aperture blocked.

Manufactured by W.T. Allen & Co. of London, this post box is a notable example of early twentieth-century mass-produced cast-iron work. Originally dating from the reign of Edward VII (1901-1910), the Tudor crown above the aperture is a physical reminder of the relationship between Ireland and the British Empire prior to Independence. This box would originally have had Edward VII's cipher on the door. Following Independence, the door was replaced, and the post box acquired the emblem of Saorstát Éireann, or the Irish Free State, creating an interesting and unusual combination. Though the post box is no longer in use, it is prominently sited.