I write of the post box. I was considering my travel options during an emergency situation at Kent Station Cork this week and as I was pondering logistical issues, my attention was suddenly drawn to the study, green cylindrical post box squirrelled away in a niche in the waiting hall. It’s very easily overlooked. Recent construction has placed partitions around it and there’s a profusion of posters, notices and other distractions muting its presence. And yet here I was drawn to it – there was a rather tangential reference to it stored in my memory. In point of fact, this particular post box is one of the oldest remaining post box still in use in Ireland.
Or so I am told authoritatively by a recent book I happened upon celebrating the ordinary history and quaint beauty of the Irish post box. “The Irish Post Box: Silent servant and symbol of the State” by Stephen Fergusson is a concise and engaging 63 page thing of charm. I mention the book as I highly recommend it. It’s a short, fun and generously illustrated work. It’s less than a tenner and here’s the thing: for whatever reason it got me paying attention to the little detail of the oft-overlooked post box.
When I arrived to Ireland, I would have noted the cylindrical box. So different than what I was used to in Canada, not just in colour, but instature. The older, tall and stately pillars are tough to miss. I loved the sense that some represented the complexities of Irish histories, lasting, expropriated living memory of times past – the embossed signets representing a foreign ruler – distinguished from the newer representatives of the self-governing state. Layers of paint not intended to obscure the utilitarian function. I learn that the post box is a very Irish thing and original contribution to the evolution of the public box to replace the private service and more importantly I am suddenly aware of their uniqueness all over again. The lovely book I mention provides an observers guide to the vast array of permutations of the post box, the subtlety of detail and the stories behind the choices in design. A walk down the street becomes a journey through time, design and reflection of the changing role of An Post. Priceless.