GPO Complex History

The GPO Complex has stood at the heart of Dublin for over 200 years, embodying both the evolution of communication and the struggle for Irish independence.

It opened to the public in 1818 replacing earlier, smaller postal premises on College Green and in the Temple Bar area. The new building reflected the growing importance of coordinated national and international communication in a constantly changing world.

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the building was continuously changed and adapted. The introduction of the telegraph in the mid-nineteenth century transformed connections between people separate by huge physical distances.

By early 1916, just weeks before the Easter Rising, a newly extended public office had opened, demonstrating the building’s ongoing modernisation and relevance.

Its role as the national centre of communications made the GPO an obvious choice as headquarters for rebel leaders during the Easter Rising. From within its walls, they coordinated operations, issued orders, and attempted to direct the rebellion across Dublin.

During The Rising, the GPO came under intense bombardment, eventually being reduced to a shell. After the destruction of the GPO, impromptu rebel headquarters were formed within houses at No.14–17 Moore Street. The development of a 1916 Commemorative Centre at No.14–17 Moore Street is now progressing. This project is also being led by the Office of Public Works in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the future GPO Complex redevelopment project will be coordinated with the redevelopment of No.14–17 Moore Street.

In the years after The Rising the GPO building was a shuttered ruin until the Board of Works (Office of Public Works) was commissioned to undertake its reconstruction and expansion. This ambitious construction project continued between 1925 and 1932, after which it resumed its central role in Irish public life. It became a home not only postal and telecommunication services but also early broadcasting operations. Notably, 2RN – the radio station that would become part of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, RTÉ – operated from the GPO complex, reinforcing its position at the forefront of mass communication in the new State.

Learn about the Moore Street redevelopment here:

https://www.gov.ie/en/office-of-public-works/press-releases/minister-browne-announces-national-monument-at-14-17-moore-street-to-commemorate-1916-rising-will-progress-to-tender-stage-and-construction/

Learn about the Decade of Centenaries here:

https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-culture-communications-and-sport/publications/decade-of-centenaries/