By Alan Healy
A Derry pensioner said this weekend that the closure of a post office she has used since she was a child has ‘ripped the heart out’ of the community.
Lily Hagan, 88, was speaking after the closure of the Park Avenue post office in Rosemount in Saturday.
Efforts had been ongoing to save the branch since September after the postmaster announced his intention to retire and had placed the business on the market.
It had been hoped that a new postmaster could be found ahead of Saturday’s closure deadline, and a number of expressions of interest had been received by the Post Office.
However, the Park Avenue post office pulled down its shutters on Saturday with no plans to reopen.
Speaking to the Derry News, one lifelong resident on the Rosemount area, Lily Hagan said that the closure would have a devastating impact on her and other elderly members of the community to whom the post office was a ‘lifeline’.
“I’m 88-years-old and that post office has been there for as long I have lived,” she said.
“To see it having to close is just heart-breaking because the people up here, especially the older people, depend on it.
“They say that I should use a bank instead – but is a bank going to post a parcel to New Zealand for me that I have for my family? No.”
Lily added that she struggles with mobility, and added that while she could manage the walk from her Rosemount Gardens home to the post office, she will now struggle to get to the nearest alternative post offices.
“The closest branches are at Rath Mor and on the Strand Road, and there’s no bus I can get to there, and I certainly couldn’t walk it,” she added.
Social outlet
Lily continued that many older people enjoy the social aspect of visiting the post office, adding that it’s closure could also have a knock-on effect for many of the surrounding businesses.
“I really enjoyed going down there and talking to the girls behind the counter and meeting people,” she added.
“It’s such a shame that’s gone now, because that was a lifeline for a lot of people.
“There’s all the wee shops around it too where people would spend their money and you would fear for them now too.
“Everyone up here just wants to see it open again, it’s such a big loss to Rosemount.”
She added: “I feel very strongly about it – I would take it over myself if I had the money.”
'Reopening by January'
Meanwhile, local Sinn Fein councillor Michael Cooper has said that he expects the Rosemount post office to reopen in the near future.
"The post office have to appoint a new provider and we understand there are a number of parties bidding for it," said Cllr Cooper.
"If the successful bidder wants to keep the facility at the same premises then it will re-open quicker but if they want to move to a new building it will take longer due to a refit etc.
"We expect the new post office to be opened by the end of January at the absolute latest."
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