THERE is a “very real threat to the future” of Annagry Post Office, An Post has warned, as the retirement of long-serving postmistress Breid McCole raises fears that the vital community service may not reopen.
A spokesperson for An Post confirmed to the Donegal News that efforts to find a contractor willing to take on the provision of post office services in Annagry ahead of Mrs McCole’s retirement on July 31 have so far been unsuccessful.
“We have advertised the vacant contract and canvassed locally but to no avail. At this stage the closure of the post office is highly likely.”
The spokesperson explained that Department of Social Protection payment customers will be transferred to Dungloe, while customers will also have the option of accessing services at the post offices in Derrybeg and Kincasslagh.
For Mrs McCole, who has run the post office since 2012, the prospect of the service closing is as heartbreaking as her own departure.
She told the Donegal News she is “truly heartbroken” to be leaving the job she loves, but has no choice because of her health.
In June last year, she took time off work to recover from open heart surgery. What she expected would be a three-month recovery turned into a much longer ordeal after complications led to a second operation, the installation of a pacemaker and ultimately a six-month stint off work.
Despite her health challenges, she returned because she knew finances were becoming increasingly difficult and she could not afford to continue paying the wages of her part-time staff members indefinitely.
Although she was offered a further five-year contract by An Post in January, it was not something she felt able to commit to.
“I realised after that, that I can’t keep going,” she said.
Mrs McCole said she feels it is important to be honest about why she is stepping away.
Throughout her years running the post office, she said she has never taken money out of the business, instead reinvesting it to keep the service going.
The contract has been put out to tender and has attracted interest. However, once prospective operators and local businesses examined the figures, she said it became clear that the terms and conditions on offer were not financially viable.
Annagry post office.
Living in the community, Breid understands better than most how important the post office is to local people, and she feels the weight of that responsibility.
That importance was clear during our interview.
The post office was a bustling hive of activity as customers came and went throughout the afternoon. People young and old called in to carry out banking transactions, collect payments and post parcels, while local businesses dropped off shipments. Behind the counter, Breid was run off her feet as she prepared for the daily collection.
She spoke of the knock-on effect the loss of the service could have on neighbouring businesses within the retail complex, including a chemist, hairdresser and café.
“A lot of my customers are depending on people to take them here, and when they come they collect their prescriptions from the chemist, they get their hair done, and they go for a cup of tea.”
For many customers, the post office is about far more than transactions. It is a social hub and a place where familiar faces are greeted by name.
As she spoke, Breid chatted easily with customers about the weather, their families and their health, demonstrating the unique role rural post offices continue to play at the heart of community life.
Now, as the countdown to her retirement continues, she is urging An Post to take over the operation directly, which she believes is the only realistic way to safeguard its future.
Local councillor Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig has been supporting efforts to sustain the post office, which he describes as a hugely important amenity for the local community.
He has arranged a meeting with Donegal Minister Charlie McConalogue, who has special responsibility for postal policy, as efforts continue to find a solution before the July deadline.