A lot of things have changed in Ballinakill over the last 50 years but one thing has remained the same – Aidan Kennedy has been running the post office in the village since April 1967.
On Monday of this week he celebrated that significant anniversary. A family gathering on Sunday marked the occasion but on Monday it was back to work as normal although there was an increase in the number of locals dropping in to pass on their congratulations.
Aidan took over the running of the Post Office following the death of his mother Jane. Prior to that his aunt Julia – his father’s sister – had run it. Between them they’ve ran the Post Office right back almost to the foundation of the state. Initially the office was in his house in the village but they’ve been in their current premises since 1992.
“It’s much the same type of business now,” he says as he considers the half century that he has put down at the heart of local life. “Pensions, social welfare, children’s allowance – but computers have been the biggest change. They’ve made it easier but I had to get used to it too.”
Meeting people
And meeting the local people on a daily basis was something he has enjoyed too. Christy O’Shea – who has done the notes for the local newspapers – has been coming into him since he opened while he’s served many generations of the same family in that time as well.
There have been tough times – he has been robbed twice, most recently in 2014 – while he says it can be a nervous experience behind the counter. “You’d be on edge and always nervous you’d make mistakes. You have to balance it every night – it’s not a big job but the computers can make a mistake too.”
But the positives far outweigh the negatives – “meeting people, earning a few bob and helping to rear a family” – and he heaped praise on his wife Sadie for her support over the years, particularly in recent times when he had a hip replacement and a health issue with his lungs.
Aidan and Sadie have seven grown-up children – Aidan, Brian, Luke, Declan and triplets Jane, John and Des. All of them live close by and there’s now 16 grandchildren – two of whom, Andrew and Charlie, were in to do a bit of business while we were there.
Another visitor was Imelda Drennan, the woman who has taken over Aidan’s job of calling the Bingo numbers in Ballinakill every Monday night. Indeed Aidan has been immersed in community life for as long as he can remember. As well as his Bingo duties, he also served as secretary of Ballinakilll GAA club for 42 years and is in the church choir. Indeed Fr Sean Conlan acknowledged his 50th anniversary at mass at the weekend.
And as he moves on with his work, we ask Aidan has he any plans of retiring. “Intend to go as long as I can,” he says. “They’re talking of closing 500 Post Offices so that could end me alright.
“The Post Office is one of the only things outside of farming that there is in every rural life and it wouldn’t help the other shops here in Ballinakill if it were to be closed down.”
SEE ALSO – Tributes paid to Laois and Ballinakill great Mick ‘Maggie’ Walsh
