General Post Office
Dublin
The General Post Office is the great post office on the city's main street. It opened in the early 1800s and is one of the most important buildings in Irish history.
A building for letters
Before this building, the city's post office moved house many times. In 1688 it was in High Street, then in Fishamble Street and College Green. The offices were small and awkward. In the end it was decided to build a new home, large and modern, north of the river.
The design was given to Francis Johnston, the government's architect. Johnston loved simple, elegant fronts inspired by ancient temples. He also worked on other buildings in the city.
What to look at from outside
The front is about 68 metres long. The ground floor is made of big blocks of rough-cut stone. The portico in the middle is of Portland stone, with six Ionic columns and a triangular pediment.
Under the portico runs a Greek fret, a pattern of zigzag lines that also appears inside the building. On the roof, a low stone wall hides the slopes of the roof: you cannot see them from below.
A building that changes
At first the building was U-shaped, around a yard for the mail coaches. In the 1900s it was enlarged and rebuilt inside. It reopened in 1929 and still works as a post office.
Even today many people go in to send parcels and letters, just as in the 1800s.
