An Post is celebrating the 200th birthday of the GPO with a Bicentenary stamp and an open invitation to a public play.
The play will take place in the main hall of the GPO this Thursday and Saturday.
GPO 1818 a short site-specific play written by Colin Murphy and directed by Jeda de Brí.
The production is a continuation of the partnership between Fishamble and An Post which began in 2016, with the production Inside the GPO, staged in the main hall at Easter.
Fishamble is an Olivier Award-winning, internationally acclaimed Irish theatre company, which discovers, develops and produces new work.
The production will run on the hour throughout Thursday and Saturday, with performance at 11am, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on Thursday and 11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm and 4pm on Saturday,
Cllr Nial Ring welcomed the news that An Post was planning to celebrate the bicentenary.
Cllr Ring has strong family connections with the building as his Grandfather and four Granduncles occupied the building during the 1916 Rising.
His Grandfather, a skilled carpenter, built the counters in the main hall when the building was restored in the 1920s.
“The GPO has a special place in the hearts and minds of everyone with an interest in Irish History, Dublin and O’Connell Street and it is fitting that the people of the city and country are being invited to its 200th Birthday party” he said.
“Without doubt it is Francis Johnston’s finest work and while it wasn’t exactly looking great for its 100th Birthday, there is no doubt that its splendour, imposing presence and link with the 1916 rising and makes it the best known and loved building in our great city today.
“The Witness History Museum, which celebrated the GPO’s pivotal role in the 1916 Rising has proven to be a huge tourist attraction, and there is no doubt that An Post has taken its responsibility for the building very seriously and continues to protect this magnificent National Monument.
“The open invitation to the public to the play GPO in 1918 will, I am sure, prove very popular with Dubliners and visitors alike and I would urge everyone to go along and enjoy the play and revel in the splendour of the main hall of this iconic Dublin Building.”
