One older customer asked: ‘What would we do without ye?’

THE woman known by one young local customer as the ‘Toothbrush Lady’ took over Coachford Post Office in June, 2012.

To some, it seemed a brave move - a few people advised Liz Thompson not to do it, as rural post offices were under threat across the country, with more and more of their services being offered online.

But Liz, who grew up living in the post office and had strong family connections to it, had different ideas. She believed if she produced a top-class service, surrounded herself with dedicated staff, and gave people more than just a post office, she could not only keep it open; she could make it thrive. And she is doing just that.

But first, where did the nickname of the ‘Toothbrush Lady’ come from?!

“I trained as a dental nurse in the University Dental School and Hospital in Cork, and qualified in 1990,” explains Liz. “I worked in Guy’s Hospital, London, and Dublin Dental Hospital, and returned to Cork Dental Hospital in 1992.

“I used to give talks to the children on cleaning their teeth,” adds Liz, who has four children of her own, Eilis, David, Ciarán and Darragh.

She explains how the nickname made a comeback while she was working as the postmistress last Christmas.

“One little child who came to post their letter to Santa chatted with Santa’s elf about what they were asking for, and when they were collected from playschool, they were very excited as they had met the ‘Toothbrush Lady’!”

Liz, the eldest of seven children, grew up in the post office.

“My dad, Dermot O’Leary, had a butcher’s and grocery shop going back to the 1950s. He got the post office in the early 1980s.

“We all helped out and worked in the post office when we were off school during the summer,” says Liz, who is married to Jimmy.

“We were all roped in over time! My mum, Mary, would have worked alongside dad in the shop and post office and they had staff also.”

Dermot retired in January, 2012, and Liz went through the interview process to take over from him.

“Twenty-odd years ago, there was no interview process,” says Liz. “A family member automatically took over the post office.

“I did the interview in Macroom and I found it quite nerve-wracking!”

Why did this qualified dental nurse want to take over Coachford Post Office?

“I always enjoyed it,” replies Liz. “I enjoyed the novelty, and I enjoyed meeting the people and getting to know them.

“The business always stood me well and when the post office came up for grabs, I didn’t need to think twice about it.

“When the opportunity came up, I was really excited about it. It meant a lot to me as it was local.”

Were the rest of the family happy that Liz took it over?

“If it wasn’t me, it was possible that it would be my brother,” says Liz. “But he was happy for me to take over the reins.”

Liz recognises that a good post office is part of the community.

“I’m there for the community and I wear a lot of different caps,” she says.

“Apart from doing the day-to-day business, I deal with a lot of personal queries. It is amazing the amount of queries I get that are not related to the post office!”

Liz is always on the ball though.

“Sometimes, you are waiting for a customer to produce a social welfare card and often it could be a library card that they dig out, or a driving licence! You have to be wide awake. Often a customer might not look at the card properly, so I have to check.

Liz enjoys the interaction with her customers.

“The post office is a sociable place,” she says. “It is a point of contact. A listening ear is very important. A counselling session often ensues if it’s quiet. I can stand and chat.

“People see a post office as a place where there is someone to go to on a one-to-one basis. The post office is well regarded for lots of reasons.”

The Covid pandemic may have opened some people’s eyes to their value too.

“I think the true value of the post office was discovered during Covid,” says Liz. “People realised the importance of it and what a central part of everyone’s life it became.”

Liz had newbies during Covid.

“I had people come in, probably in their forties, who had never put a stamp on a letter or who had never posted a letter before! It was a huge learning curve!”

Liz knows nearly everyone in the area.

“Often, there are enquiries when someone is looking for a person in the area,” she says. “We are the pick-up point for people if their local post-person can’t deliver a letter or a parcel to them. In my dad’s time, when the sorting office was here, people would ring him looking for addresses or directions.”

Liz not only offers advice and information in her post office in the village of Coachford, seven miles from Macroom, she also has a stationery shop also in the post office.

“I have national and secondary school stationery, greeting cards for all occasions, helium balloons, party supplies and kids’ toys. I also have facilities for photocopying, printing and scanning.”

Liz marks every occasion and aims to cheer customers up.

“We love to decorate the post office for every occasion throughout the year.

When the queues are long, and the chat is going on, what do people talk about?

“Conversations vary from the weather (a customer brought us in some little signs they use for the weather in school), to whether there is enough water for fishing, to gardening, to a cúpla focal as Gaeilge, to the best places for dancing.”

Spirits are always high in the post office.

“There is always a variety of jokes on the go,” says Liz. “Discussions on GAA matches and local soccer matches are always going on.”

People like being involved in community activities.

“I often hear the quote, ‘It’s well to be able’, says Liz.

People are able to do their daily business and transactions at the post office.

“We have lots of lovely characters coming in. One older lady always says, ‘What would we do without ye. We wouldn’t survive’.”

There’s lots of dedicated customers coming into Coachford Post Office.

“We have fun and the craíc about people who hold up the queue,” says Liz. “They say, we’re here now, we must have the chat!

“The post office is often the only meeting place available to people and there is no hurry.”

Liz has dedicated customers, and she has dedicated staff.

“I’ve two part-time locals, Maria Buckley and Ted Dunne,” she says. “And Sarah Dineen is here for the summer.”

All year round, Coachford Post Office is a friendly, sociable meeting place that offers top-class service, making it thrive.

Long may it last!