Galway quadriplegic’s hunger strike over post office closure

A quadriplegic has gone on hunger strike to highlight his fight, after failing to get anywhere with his public pleas to An Post to reopen Cleggan’s post office.

On day three of his fast, Marty Coyne insists he is not backing down, even if he has to go to hospital.

He was one of a group of local residents and councillors who met with An Post officials last Friday about the closure of the sub-post office at the village shop when the lease changed hands last month.

“As I said to them, it’s costing them thousands and thousands to run an advertising campaign talking about a caring An Post. Keeping this post agency open will cost them nothing. They turned a profit of over €6m last year. There’s no need for all these culls,” he exclaimed.

“They could do the same thing for every post master and mistress in the country on retirement. Are they going to herd us all into Clifden? The shop won’t survive without the postal agency – it will close in three years when the lease is up. Then we’ll have to go to Clifden for a pint of milk. That’s why I’m doing this.”

Aonghus Laverty of An Post, who met with the community group as well as Fine Gael Deputy Sean Kyne, Cllrs Tom Healy (SF) and Eileen Mannion (FG), said he understood the depth of feeling that the closure had caused.

But there would be no rowing back on the decision.

“I explained that postal agencies are just not part of the way we set out our stall anymore and we won’t be renewing the lease for this or any of the 123 surviving postal agencies. There is no alternative,” he insisted.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.