After almost forty years of service a Co Cavan postwoman has delivered her final letters.
The phrase ‘end of an era’ is bandied around a lot these days, so much so that it’s easy for it to have lost a little of its power but for the retirement of Jane Duffy in Mullagh it’s a very befitting phrase.
The Mullagh postwoman after four decades has sealed the deal on her retirement and the wider community is set to come together tomorrow evening with a special mass to celebrate the local woman for the wonderful service she has given to the rural east Cavan community.
A native of Mullagh, Jane also known as Jenny to so many has given 38 years of her life to An Post but decided that now is the right time to finally put her feet up for a well-earned break.
Jane’s lifelong journey with A Post started after she left school, her late father had been the postman for the same route for over 20 yenor4ars prior to her taking on the job. She says that she knew the route like the back of her hand from spending Saturday’s helping her dad on the route.
“Yeah, 38 years it's a long time. I met a lot of people and lost a lot of people in in the rounds and all that craic, but I kept some great friends, and it was lovely to meet so many and generations, like I would have started off with their mom and dad, and then their children, and now the children are married and have children and have their homes built in the locality. And it's good to keep in touch with them.”
The postie said her job involved a great degree of local knowledge of the rural area but you knew everyone. Speaking to Northern Sound, she recalls the service that a postwoman would do on any given day.
When asked about the pandemic, Jane recalls that post deliveries was one of the few services undisrupted during the pandemic, collecting items for people who were isolated in their own homes, including prescriptions.
“Well, the newspaper was a big thing for a lot of people in the rural area. And maybe tea bags or something like that. You know, they say the day before, if you're coming tomorrow, would you bring me bread or whatever? Yeah, no problem.”
She said she delivered letters, postcards, newspapers, packages (mostly from the US), and messages like bread and tea bags. After her long career spanning 38 years, she also recalled her role being a woman in a male dominated job and how she says it’s great to see many women now working in the postal service.
When asked what she will miss, Jane says the people on her run and the chats, even just a hello and she also noted the many people she met over the years who have since passed away, while celebrating the friendships she made over the years, friendships that she says are lifelong.
