The GPO occupies a space in Irish life that transcends bricks and mortar. More than a functioning post office or architectural anchor of O’Connell Street, it is the most resonant physical symbol of the struggle for Irish independence. It is no surprise, then, that the Government’s vague and ill-defined outline for its redevelopment, framed in response to the Dublin City Taskforce report, has drawn such emotional and at times overheated criticism.
Sinn Féin and Aontú have accused the Government of plotting to turn the GPO into “a shopping centre”. While this charge is more rhetorical than realistic – the proposals include “re-imagined retail components” in the existing shops on Henry Street and the GPO Arcade – it reflects an understandable fear that the site’s dignity might be compromised in the name of commercial convenience. The idea of a Starbucks beneath the watchful gaze of Cúchulainn rightly causes discomfort, however improbable it may be.
Still, the reaction should not obscure the need for careful scrutiny of what is being proposed. Among the Government’s stated intentions are to retain a post office function, enhance the public realm, integrate retail elements and introduce “significant cultural uses”. Thus far, so good. But it also includes a plan to install a “high-quality office element on the upper floors to meet ongoing and additional Government requirements”.
This is where the proposal veers off course.
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At a time when central Dublin is not short of modern office space – much of it lying vacant – it is difficult to comprehend why the State would invest in converting a historic and architecturally sensitive complex from the 1920s into more civil service workspace. Such a move appears not only unnecessary but tone-deaf to the symbolic role of the building and the opportunity it presents.
The north inner city, and O’Connell Street in particular, have suffered decades of neglect and decline. The GPO, if imaginatively and respectfully revitalised, could be a cornerstone in the area’s cultural and civic renewal. That opportunity must not be squandered.
A successful redevelopment should put heritage and public engagement at its core. It must help residents and visitors alike understand the GPO’s extraordinary role in Ireland’s history, something the current museum on the premises only begins to do. It should also include new public cultural venues: not just one, but several, ensuring that this central, national site is animated with meaning and public value.
As Labour’s Marie Sherlock and An Post CEO David McRedmond (who chaired the original taskforce and knows the building as well as anyone) have rightly pointed out, there are better options for additional office space elsewhere. The GPO deserves more than functional repurposing. It deserves vision, respect and ambition.
