The General Post Office in Dublin was designed by Francis Johnston, an architect with the Board of Works, in the Greek Revival Style. The main section of the building was made with Wicklow granite and the portico of Portland stone. The structure was completed in the short space of approximately three years at a cost (depending on sources) of between £50,000 and £80,000.

It was the main stronghold of the Irish Volunteers in the 1916 Rising, while today the General Post Office offers a wide range of services.

The General Post Office (GPO) is remarkable not just for the special place it holds in Irish history and for its handsome architecture but for the fact that – after two centuries – it continues successfully to fulfil its original purpose as the headquarters of the Irish Post Office. A place of business and public service, of remembrance, protest and pageantry, the GPO deserves the unique place it holds in the affections of Irish people everywhere.

The GPO also houses the brand new ‘GPO Witness History’ visitor attraction which opens on March 29th 2016. This will be a highly interactive and immersive exhibition which will focus on the 1916 rising, the aftermath of this rebellion and also how Ireland has developed since. This exhibition will allow visitors to experience the events from an eyewitness perspective of active participants on both sides and bystanders caught in the middle. Touch screens, real artefacts, videos, dress sets and memory walls will further enhance the visitor experience. Visitors will be able to relax afterwards in the café and retail store. This iconic venue will also be available for private functions and events.

Brief History:

The General Post Office in Ireland was first located in High Street in Dublin moving to Fishamble Street in 1689, to Sycamore Alley in 1709 and then in 1755 to Bardin's Chocolate House on the site where the Commercial Buildings used to be (now the Central Bank building) off Dame Street.  It was afterwards removed to a larger house opposite the Bank of Ireland building on College Green. On 6 January 1818, the new post-office in Sackville Street (now O'Connell Street) was opened for business.