The GPO Museum is delighted to present a new, specially researched tour about the building at the heart of Irish history, identity and the fight for independence – the General Post Office.
Join us as we dig through the past and uncover the stories hidden within the walls of this iconic Dublin building. This tour will bring guests through the construction of the General Post Office in the 1800s – from the stones which built up its walls and the statues presiding over its roof, to the celebrated architect Francis Johnson who designed it. Discover how it stands in comparison and alongside other historical, architectural feats in Dublin such as the Four Courts and the Custom House. Take a journey through the alterations made over two centuries and the impact the destruction of the 1916 Rising had on the building.
The tour will also explore the day-to-day operations of the GPO over 200 years. How people used it, who they were, and the workers who provided these essential services to the Irish people. As the centre of communications in Ireland special emphasis will be placed on the significant role the GPO has had in Irish society, its many years as a site of protest and commemoration, and its role at the centre of one of Ireland’s most historically significant weeks – Easter Week 1916.
The tour will bring guests right up to the present day as we journey through the building’s reconstruction, and its leading role in modernising Ireland through communications – including radio and television broadcasting.
Please note this tour will take place in areas of the building currently accessible to the public and not the whole building.
Image Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland (NLI).