THE people of a small north Wexford community have begun a determined campaign to retain their local post office, which was closed abruptly by An Post last week after the death of the woman who ran it for almost 70 years.
Miss Sarah Hempenstall, post-mistress at Clough, died on the last Saturday in April, aged 86. She was buried on Monday, and on Tuesday a notice was placed in the window of her small post office and shop announcing the closure of the office on May 2nd.
Residents learned that all their post office business, including pensions and children's allowances, would have to be transacted at Gorey, some three miles away along the busy N11 route.
They moved swiftly. "We had a meeting on Tuesday night at a few hours' notice, and 100 people turned up," said Mrs Margaret Quinn, chairwoman of the local Community Alert group.
A letter of protest was drafted and submitted to the postal authorities in Gorey, demanding that An Post consult with the community. On Friday, the day of the official closure, more than 80 people held a peaceful picket outside their post office.
Their posters urged: "Don't tear the heart out of rural Ireland", and when An Post officials did not turn up for the closure, the residents decided to move their picket to Gorey head post office.
The Clough post office has operated from the same premises for 150 years, and was in the Hempenstall family for 100 years. The protesters say it was widely used and also served the neighbouring Ballyoughter area, four miles away.
Miss Hempenstall's shop and post office was the hub of the community, and the closure would have a devastating effect, they assert. With no bus service from the village, many people, including the elderly, would face hardship in having to travel to Gorey for pensions and other services.
"This is a close-knit community. People feel really strongly about this," said Mrs Quinn. She pointed out that it can take up to three-quarters of an hour to get into Gorey in the summer months because of traffic.
The campaigners are pinning their case on the fact that a businessman who has bought another premises in Clough plans to open a shop there and is willing to take over the post office service.
In the meantime, another resident has offered a temporary premises to An Post to preserve continuity of the service.
An Post's case that there is not enough business to retain the post office at Clough is rejected. It is true that, with Miss Hempenstall's advancing age, both her shop and post office business had declined, with only about 10 pensioners and 10 children's allowances remaining active on her books.
But a community survey has shown that up to 40 others would like to transfer their business back to a local post office.
The loss of Miss Hempenstall's shop, selling newspapers, milk, sweets and a range of basic groceries, is also a major blow to the crossroads village and its hinterland, which have no other retail outlet.
HER assistant for many years, Miss Mary Dunbar, said: "She was dedicated to her work.
Her heart and soul were in it." Another neighbour, Mr Patsy Kinsella, said: "She was one of the greatest ladies you could meet. There was no better in the county of Wexford. She helped everybody."
The largely Church of Ireland community, whose postal address is Leskinfere, lost its one-teacher school many years ago. It is 10 years since buses stopped there.
The loss of the post office would be the last straw, the community believes. To intensify its campaign, it has called another public meeting tomorrow night and has invited local politicians and An Post officials to attend.