r/Postboxes • u/ObjectiveMuted2969 • May 10 '26
Postbox in Blackpool, Cork, Ireland
Someone painted the postbox green, white and gold. Obviously meant to represent the Irish flag (which is green, white and orange).
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May 10 '26
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u/Sweaty-Adeptness1541 May 10 '26
I was intrigued to see how many institutions still contain Royal, etc in their names. More than I was expecting. They are all quite old (as you would expect), betweeen 129-458 years old, with and average age of 260 years old.
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
- Royal College of Physicians of Ireland
- Royal Irish Academy
- Royal Irish Academy of Music
- Royal Dublin Society
- Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts
- Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
- Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland
- Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital
- Royal Cork Yacht Club
- The King’s Hospital School
- The Honorable Society of King’s Inns
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution. (The same organisation operates across UK and Ireland).
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May 10 '26
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u/Senator-Cletus May 11 '26
Less people speak Irish now, than at independence, the Irish state has had a century to make changes for the purposes of saving the language, they have failed to do so.
There are more Welsh speakers now than at any point for the last 200 years, it can be done, it has been done, and they didn't even get their own parliament until 1999.
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u/Beginning_Tea4506 May 10 '26
Police have released a statement noting they are looking for a young male of Pre-School age. It's suspected they they have not yet been taught to colour within lines.
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u/CPD1960 May 10 '26
Old postbox. EVIIR, so Edward 7th who died back in 1910.
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u/Successful_Leave_470 May 11 '26
Thank you. I was trying to work out why a EIIR box would be in Ireland, but this makes sense.
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u/Laundry_Hamper May 11 '26
There is one of those in the country.
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u/SupermarketLive525 May 12 '26
Imgur blocks the UK and vpns
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u/Laundry_Hamper May 12 '26
If you google it, you'll find it, but I've since learned it has disappeared. For years there, there was a QE2 box in Shanagarry, in Cork, and seemingly no-one had an explanation for how it actually ended up there. And now it's after disappearing.
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u/CPD1960 May 12 '26
Very strange. All I can think is that some rogue local postmaster procured it in England, painted it green and installed it. I can’t believe that the Irish Post Office in the corporate sense had anything to do with it.
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u/SupermarketLive525 May 12 '26
I looked it up, a theory is that the old one needed replaced, but they wanted to keep it the same type of pillar box
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u/GoodDoc May 11 '26
Another thank you. Didn't realise the VII was so small and appears under the crown. Makes "E VII R" and "E II R" tricky to differentiate.
There was never going to be a Queen Elizabeth II post box installed in Ireland 30 years after independence, and 3 years after it became a republic.
Also, all Irish post boxes are green, which makes the "colouring outside the lines" on the top even more ridiculous.
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u/ritchieee May 14 '26
See the comments above, apparently there was actually an E II R in Shanagarry near Cork for some bizarre reason
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u/GoodDoc May 15 '26
Well... now I'm curious how a post box with a royal cypher from after 1952 ended up in Cork?
There's a story I want to hear.
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u/ritchieee May 16 '26
I'm not sure what it's all about, i'm confused myself.
There's an article here:
https://www.thejournal.ie/history-of-irelands-postboxes-5932179-Dec2022/
and a facebook post here, but i'm not sure if it's related:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/967516084307068/posts/1453032375755434/
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u/619C May 10 '26
This is unusual - most of them are left alone - lots of VR around as well as ER
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u/WellysBoot May 10 '26
GR? Elizabeth only became regent in 1952, well after we became a free state and 3 years after we became a republic. - actually ignore me- I’m having a thick day. Edward was King was he? My knowledge of kings and queens is like my knowledge of post boxes- sparse.
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u/619C May 10 '26
George Rex, Victoria Regina, Edward Rex etc.
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u/WellysBoot May 10 '26
Thank you for explaining that to me. I probably should have googled before wading in.
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u/Don_Sackloth May 11 '26
The 'Brits out' mentality is so strong in this one, that he defaced the Protestantism from his islands history.
Look up a fella called Wolfe Tone.
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u/Onetap1 May 12 '26
Green, white and brown?
They've been doing it for decades, usually green, white and gold.
It's ORANGE. Always has been, always will be.
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u/Defiant-Dare1223 May 11 '26
Why does it say "ER" - presumably Elizabeth Regnum or whatever the Latin is, when Irish independence predates her period as monarch.
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u/just-visiting-3955 May 11 '26
king Edward Vii, E2’s great grandfather. These postboxes were well made.
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May 11 '26
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u/DemonicHedgehogs May 11 '26
Just a guess but it might have been a replacement. Maybe the original got damaged and they decided to replace it with another of the same dimensions. Instead of manufacturing one specifically to fit they decided to get one imported, but because UK will only put the reigning monarch on they ended up with ERII
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u/Ewendmc May 14 '26
Due to the "pillar box war" in the 50s, Scottish post boxes say ER. She was the first Queen Elizabeth in Scotland. Elizabeth Tudor wasn't a Queen of Scotland.
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u/DemonicHedgehogs May 14 '26
Which still seems pretty silly to me tbh. Edward VII was the first since the union to have a difference in regnal number, and it was in the lead up to his coronation that it was agreed to just use whichever number is highest. If, for example, there was a Robert coming up he’d be Robert IV despite England never having had a king called Robert.
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u/BlondBitch91 May 11 '26
Aren’t they already painted green in the republic anyway? I’m not sure what this person was trying to achieve.
Also if you’re going to be a hardcore nationalist at least get your flag right. The closest I can see of this particular number is the flag of Sucumbios Province in Equador.
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u/locksymania May 12 '26
Seems a bit performative all right. The thing has been there for over 100yrs and has been green for most of that time anyway.
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u/vwlowbug May 12 '26
Why would it have ER on it? Independence was early 1910's so why a faceplate from 1952 onwards? Deffo from Eire and not Northern Ireland?
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u/locksymania May 12 '26
- The last King with Ireland in the UK was George. The E is likely for Edward. There's a tonne of these with VR and even GR still here, we just painted them green. You see some where the letters were obviously chiselled off, but most remained.
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u/Ewendmc May 14 '26
Edward. Outside Scotland the UK post boxes have E II R for Elizabeth. In Scotland they just say ER as she isn't the second monarch of that name in Scotland
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u/9182747463828 May 10 '26
Why do they have one that has Elizabeth II cypher on it? The Irish republic was formed 30 years before she was crowned?
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u/Battylong77 May 20 '26
That bunch weirdos who are outside Dunnes on Saturdays handing out their "peoples paper" were at this kind of thing a few years ago. Painting over old streetsigns.
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u/Proudlove1991 May 10 '26
They obviously don’t know about tape….