Irish Street PO closes

FRIDAY marked the end of an era at Irish Street with the closing of the Post Office.

Believed to be the last Post Office in the Waterside operating as a separate outlet with an on-street presence, it had been operating under the guiding hand for the last 13 years by David Glenn and his wife, Hazel.

Throughout the day well-wishers called at the Post Office to wish David well in his retirement, which he said he would be spending working on his farm in Co Donegal.

Thanking his faithful customers over the years, he said: "I just want to thank everyone for all their support. Unfortunately, with the way things are with the Post Office now, it seems that small Post Offices are finding it too difficult to keep going. We have been running the Post Office here for 13 years."

The owners of the two adjacent shops on Irish Street were among those to wish David and Hazel well on their final day. ]

Valerie Moore, proprietor of the fancy goods and gift shop, said: "We wish them well in their retirement. It's sad to see them go because I don't know of any other Post Office left in the Waterside. They are all inside supermarkets now."

However, she said there was deep concern for the continued well-being of the remaining shops, and she appealed for customers to remain faithful to them.

"When customers come into their small corner shops they are guaranteed the personal touch. We will ensure purchases are gift wrapped if customers want and we also run a Christmas Club so that people can help spread the cost of Christmas," she said, adding: "I am lucky that people cannot pick up in supermarkets what they can get in this shop, but other people are not so lucky."

Nextbdoor, Stanley McCobb, the proprietor of the convenience store, said that he also wished David and Hazel well.

"We certainly want to wish David well in his retirment, but we would also appeal to people to support us. This closure has happened at a bad time economically, and we feel angry about all the Post Offices in the Waterside being closed," he said.

Mr McCobb said corner shops offered a personal service and were social points in addition to just selling goods, and he added that in addition to essentials his outlet also offered vital services such as oil and coal deliveries.

However, the closure of the Post Office has upset some of the elderly residents in the area, among them Joan Catterson, who was a regular face at the Post Office, and who said she was devastated by the closure because she had mobility problems.

"There is no way that I could ever go down there," she said, pointing to Glendermott Road: "I cannot walk very far to start with and I am only recovering from two broken bones. I have osteoporosis in my spine and in my neck.

"These shops up here are essential to me. I am 78 years of age and this is as far as I can walk. I have a special needs daughter and I am caring for my husband who has Alzheimers. Valerie Moore is very helpful and I think it is disgraceful that the Post Office has to go. It is very sad," said Mrs Catterson.

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