This building originally opened for business on 6th January 1818 - 192 years ago to-day.
The statues above the central portico represent Hibernia, in the centre with her harp. On her left is Fidelity and on her right, Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods.
The GPO was badly damaged during the Easter Rising in 1916. It was seized on Easter Monday by members of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen's Army. The damage was caused during fighting between the occupants and the British Army, which was trying to regain control of the building.
Bullet marks can still be seen on the columns supporting the central portico.
After the Rising, the building was not formally reopened until 1929, when it became the administrative headquarters of An Post, the Irish Post Office.
The street was originally Drogheda Street, then Sackville Street and, after Irish independence in 1921, re-named O'Connell Street after Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847), an Irish politician and patriot.
The photo below is looking up the street, with the O'Connell Monument on the right. The monument was unveiled in 1882.
O'Connell Street was also the scene of further fighting, in July 1922, between the rival sides in the Irish Civil War.
2 comments:
OMG!!! I was there, I walked past that building, took pictures of it, and walked on that street! So very very cool to see it here, like this. Wow... I want to go back so much.
I wish I knew you when I was there because I bet you would've been a wonderful tour guide!
What an interesting look at history there. Amazing that there are still bullet holes in the columns!
Thank you for the history lesson. "Lest We Forget".
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