General Post Office

A true piece of Irish history. So much to look at. Bullet holes still there. This is the spot where the lads of 1916 fought off those limey bastards. The 100 year anniversary is here. Make sure to raise a pint in memory! As far as a p.o. goes its fast, they have cool Irish stamps and they also have a great little museum to see.

The heart of Dublin City.
This Christmas season, it has been wonderful to come through here.
I walked into an impromptu carolling session, two men were playing instruments beside the display and a girl said she would like her auntie to go up and sing a song, so they allowed it and my goodness, she had a beautiful voice.
What a lovely thing to see at Christmas time.
The GPO has stood strong in Dublin, and will be commemorated during the 1916 celebrations this year. Definitely something to check out.
The postal service is excellent, you can also pay bills, buy gift cards, stamps, lottery tickets, post parcels, etc.
The staff are all wonderful, so cheerful and pleasant to deal with.

«You cannot conquer Ireland.
You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for Freedom.»
Padraig Pearse (1879 – 1916)
Am ersten Morgen unseres Aufenthaltes führte uns unser erster
Weg ganz automatisch in die Lower O’Connell Street, zum GPO,
dem General Post Office, der Zentrale der irischen Post.
Aber nicht zum Kaufen von Briefmarken. Der Besuch des GPO
ist für jeden Irlandfan, für jeden, der für die irische Kultur und
Geschichte Begeisterung empfindet, quasi eine Pflicht.
Mit dem Bau des GPO wurde im Jahre 1814 begonnen.
Fertiggestellt wurde es 1818. Der Bau verschlang die damals
nicht unbeträchtliche Summe von 50.000 Pfund Sterling. Errichtet
wurde dieses Gebäude im neoklassizistischem Stil, mit einem
vorgelagerten Portikus, der von sechs ionischen Säulen getragen
wird. Auf dem Dach stehen drei allegorische Figuren. Rechts Merkur,
links Fidelitas, und in der Mitte die Figur der Hibernia, mit der rechten
Hand gestützt auf einen Speer, in der linken Hand das Symbol der
irischen Nation, die keltische Harfe.
Das General Post Office ist aber weitaus mehr, als nur ein Baudenkmal
des beginnenden 19. Jahrhunderts. Es ist auch geschichtsträchtiger,
für nationalbewußte Iren vielleicht sogar geheiligter Boden. Denn im
GPO befand sich während des Easter Rising, während des
Osteraufstandes 1916 gegen die britischen Unterdrücker, die
Kommandozentrale der irischen Rebellen. Und auf den Stufen, vor dem
Eingang, verlas der Schullehrer und Dichter Padraig Pearse die
Proklamation der Republik von Irland. Da wo auf dem Dach des GPO
heute die irische Trikolore weht, flatterte am 24. April 1916 die Fahne
der Rebellen. Auf grünem Tuch eine Harfe. Unter der Harfe der Schriftzug
«Poblacht na h’ Eireann». Auch wenn diese Rebellion gegen England
scheiterte, war sie die Keimzelle der Republik Irland. Die brutalen
Hinrichtungen der Führungspersonen dieses Aufstandes und die
massenweise Deportation der Aufständischen führte letztendlich zur
Solidarisierung der Iren und löste in letzter Konsequenz den
Unabhängigkeitskrieg der Iren gegen die Briten aus. Die Iren waren es,
die den ersten Stein aus dem Fundament des britischen Empire
herausbrachen.
In einem kleinen, im GPO integrierten Museum, wird eine der Kopien
der Proklamation der Republik aufbewahrt.
Und im Eingangsbereich steht eine fast lebensgroße Skulptur
von Cú Chúlainn, einem der Helden aus der altirischen Mythologie.
Dargestellt wir der Tod des Cu Chulainn. Wahrscheinlich soll damit
an das Opfer der führenden Personen des Osteraufstandes
erinnert werden.
Als Besucher Dublins sollte man dies alles gesehen haben.

How could you not love this building… it is full of history and has to be one of the most attractive Post Offices in the world. I haven’t used this Post Office very often but the fact it has more open kiosks than local PO’s i’ve never have to wait to long.
The museum is relatively cheap…€ 2 for entry… but not sure if this is about the building and history surrounding it or if is about stamps & postage. One would be interesting… the other option, not so much!

Big Building. Post Office Inside. Irish History Outside. Demonstrations in front of it. If you haven“t seen it, you haven“t been to Dublin.

historical and beatifull building. stage for the great conflict in the early 1900’s. Nice photo shoot.

I am a history GEEK!!! I literally dork out on historical buildings every chance I get, so to me the fact I can get all of my postal needs taken care and be surrounded by a building which saw one of the many things in Irish history I am completely obsessed with in one fell swoop… I’ll take it.
What makes it an even better experience is the absolute beauty of the building both inside and out. So really you get post office, historical geekdome, and gorgeous architecture. God this place keeps getting cooler the more I think about it. Now if they just served coffee…

One of the birthplaces of Irish freedom. It was headquarters of the 1916 rising. Still has bullets holes in the walls and columns today.
Sells stamps too lol.

Inside they will post your letters for you. Visually it will impress you. And on the corner, the street preacher will help save your soul and is apparently a one person postal operation to send your soul to heaven. Amen.

Love this old post office building. Go inside and check out the historic interior. They don’t make buildings like this anymore. I was able to quickly purchase stamps here too for postcards to send home.

5 étoiles pour l’intérieur, une poste comme on n’en voit plus: guichet en bois et verre, avec grands placards posés au-​dessus, tables en bois avec petits compartiments pour y trouver tel papier administratif, lustres d’autrefois… C’est réellement une visite amusante, à faire en quelques secondes avant de retrouver la bruyante O’Connell Street.

Even though this is one of the obvious landmarks on any tourist’s itinerary, I still find the GPO-​awe insprining; especially with all the bulletholes and shrapnel-​marks still visible in the main columns. It does remind of the fact that Ireland had to struggle to be born as an independent nation…

The GPO is one of Ireland’s most famous buildings, and was the last of the great Georgian public buildings erected in the capital. It is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin’s principal post office. I have often made a point of walking a little bit further than necessary just to experience the sheer splendour of this imposing post office when I could have easily gone somewhere less out of my way to post my letter. I can rarely resist the opportunity to undertake a task as commonplace as posting a letter within such extraordinary surroundings — adding a great sense of grandiose to things.
Extraordinarily, during the Easter Rising of 1916, the GPO served as the headquarters of the uprising’s leaders. The assault by the British forces extensively damaged the building and it was not repaired until the Irish Free State government took up the task some years later. Intriguingly, the original columns outside are still pocked with bullet-​marks. They provide an everlasting reminder of the important historical events that took place here. The historical significance of the GPO and the way the building has remained a symbol of Irish nationalism and Irish national history never fails to utterly enthrall me.

There is so many reasons to visit the General Post Office– usually just called ‘GPO’. The first reason, as others have already pointed out is the fact that it is the headquarters of An Post, the Irish postal service and the main post office in Dublin. There is also the historical significance of the GPO, which was used as a rebel stronghold during the 1916 Easter Rising. And thirdly there is the statue of Cuchulainn– the great Irish mythological hero– in the window of the GPO. A must– see for tourists.

This iconic building is one of the most famous in Dublin and represents Irish independence and freedom. The An Post (Ireland’s postal service) headquarters are here in the General Post Office in Dublin, in the heart of O’Connell Street. This building has a ton of troubled history and if these walls could speak they would most certainly have great tales to tell. It has been host to many historic events for Dublin such as being the headquarters for the leaders of the Easter Rising (fight for Irish republicans with the aim to end British rule and establish the Republic of Ireland), to being the braodcasting studio of Radio Eireann, as well as being damaged by the British forces with bullet holes still intact! A must visit for Irish tourists.

Yes it’s steeped in History but you know it’s also a post office. Handy for letters, parcels and other post officey business. Once I went in there for a particular type of envelope that they were supposed to have and they told me to try another post office. I left wondering how surely the supreme post office of all irish post offices wouldn’t have what I needed.
It also opens later and longer than other post offices and is crazy busy at Christmas!

Dublin’s GPO (General Post Office) is the stand out building on O’Connell Street. It is a normal run of the mill post office selling stamps, posting letters and parcels and all those other post office services on offer.
However, the great thing about our GPO are the bullet holes in the columns and the history surrounding the place. It was opened in 1818 and perched on the central 50ft balustrade are the symbolic figures of Hibernia, Fidelity and Mercury. In the window a bronze statue stands depicting the death of mythical Irish legend Cuchulainn serves as an allegorical commemoration of the Easter Rising.

Dublin’s General Post Office (or GPO) is one of Dublin’s top attractions. The impressive building on O’Connell Street is hard to miss: it takes up a whole block, has massive Greek columns and a large Irish flag hangs from the top.
Anyone living in Ireland should visit this historical site. It represents the country’s fight for independence. You can still see the bullet holes in the columns outside after Irish nationalists and British forces fought in the 1916 Easter Rising. There’s also a wonderful statue of the legendary warrior Cuchulainn that is dedicated to the Irish freedom fighters.
Besides being part of Irish history, the GPO offers all the regular services of a post office. If nothing else, visit this landmark to mail your bills and postcards.

No need to pay in here, so a great recession friendly option! This is where the 1916 Rising’s rebels had their headquarters. Things to note include the bullet holes that are sprayed across the façade as well as the statue of Cú Chullain, a sort ancient Irish Chuck Norris, which is in the window to commorate the rising. In order to fully understand this troubled chapter in Irish history, seeing the GPO is a must.