
The General Post Office (GPO) (Irish: Ard-Oifig an Phoist) in Dublin was at first held in a small building on the site of the Commercial Buildings, and was afterwards removed to a larger house opposite the bank on College Green (since converted into the Royal Arcade;) and on January 6, 1818, the new post-office in Sackville Street, later O'Connell Street, was opened for business. It is now the headquarters of An Post, the postal service of the Republic of Ireland. During the Easter Rising of 1916, it served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders. The assault of the British forces extensively damaged the building and it was not repaired until the Irish Free State government took up the task some years later. The original columns outside are still pocked with bullet-marks, as a testimony to this violent history and the building has remained a symbol of Irish nationalism and Irish national history. As of 2005, the Irish government intends to transfer all postal business from the GPO and dedicate the entire building to the commemoration of the Easter Rising.
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