Galway West Independent TD Noel Grealish has confirmed that Oughterard is to retain its post office. The village’s current postmistress is retiring from the business in September and there has been some concern locally about the future of post office services in Oughterard.
Deputy Grealish said he was delighted to have received confirmation this week from An Post that that the village would definitely retain a post office — a service it has enjoyed for more than 210 years.
“While An Post had advertised for expressions of interest in the contract when it becomes vacant in September, there was no guarantee from them that whoever got the licence would operate from the village itself or maybe serve the wider area from another location.
“Naturally, with a history of post office closures in many areas around the country and in County Galway too over the past decade or more, people in the village were worried that they might have to travel elsewhere to avail of services.
“But I am delighted to have received definitive confirmation in writing this week from An Post that the replacement service would indeed be located in Oughterard,” added Deputy Grealish.
An Post advertised earlier this year for expressions of interest in running the service and among those known to have applied for a licence was Keogh’s Centra supermarket.
In response to queries from Deputy Grealish, An Post’s Public Affairs Manager, Angus Lafferty, said that they were processing these expressions now and were “quite confident’ of being able to appoint a new contractor in good time.
“And of course, the new contractor would be situated in the village,” Mr Lafferty added.
