Rural Ireland is being closed down, one basic service after another – and it’s killing our communitiesPopulations are soaring in country towns as more and more housing estates are built, yet post offices, banks, pubs, and independent shops and restaurants are disappearing' How is it that Ireland is richer than ever and yet can feel like such a poor place to live?' Photo: Don MoloneyHannah Quinn-Mulligan Today at 06:30We would be lost without our local post office. In a rural town where all the banks, credit unions and even restaurants have closed down, all we’re left with in our local town these days are pubs, a bookie’s and a busy Spar supermarket which kindly hosts the post office, after the actual building where the post office sat for what felt like the last millennium was closed and sold.

Source: Irish Independent March 10, 2026 14:31 UTC