Irish Post Office Has a Plan To Tell One Murphy From Another

[IIOY]

From today's WSJ:

DUBLIN—When Patrick Murphy moved to a small town in western Ireland a decade ago, there were already two other Patrick Murphys in the neighborhood.



They weren't related and lived in different homes. But they all shared the same address: Dromtrasna Collins, Abbeyfeale, County Limerick.



Like many parts of rural Ireland, the town doesn't use house numbers. Some addresses don't even carry street names. And unlike the rest of Europe and most of the industrialized world, Ireland also doesn't have postal codes—the equivalent of a ZIP Code in the U.S.



The Abbeyfeale postman first delivered mail to the Patrick Murphy who had lived in the village the longest, and they worked it out from there.



"My neighbors would get it first," said Mr. Murphy, 40 years old. "They'd have a good read, and they'd go, 'No it's probably not us.' "



Now, the government here wants to end confusion like this, and plans to roll out the country's first postal-code system next spring. It promises to be one of the world's most specific—assigning an individual number to every residence and business.



That is far more precise than in the U.K., where a unique code might encompass more than a dozen homes. In the U.S., a ZIP Code can include an entire town.



Many Irish citizens, however, say the system is pushing the envelope. It's intrusive, they say. And they worry it could affect property values. It's secretly designed to make it easier to collect taxes, others allege. Some Irish citizens just want their snail mail to stay slow.



"The bloody post codes…don't start with me on those," said Grainne Kenny, 76, of Dún Laoghaire, a town southeast of Dublin. "They're a necessary evil, maybe, but I think Ireland is losing its charm. We're a small country."



Can't find the right house? "Stop somebody on the road," Ms. Kenny said. "They'll say, 'Over that hill there.' "



"It's absolutely ridiculous," said Paul Davitt, 51, whose address is simply Badger Hill, Ashford, County Wicklow. "No postmen get lost. They all know their own routes. Who's it for?"





Patrick Murphy tended his coffee shop in Waterford. When he lived in County Limerick, there were two other Patrick Murphys in the neighborhood, and mail would often get mixed up. Lisa Fleisher/The Wall Street Journal

Other Irish residents are happy to see the postal codes arrive. More than a third of Ireland's official 2.2 million residential addresses refer to more than one household, creating headaches ranging from bills going missing to ambulances having trouble finding the right house. And then there is the challenge for Ireland's postal service of delivering the mail in a country full of Murphys, Kellys and O'Briens.



These days, most e-commerce sites require a postal code to place an order. The modern Irish online shopper typically resorts to typing a series of zeros or X's—or just makes a number up.



Dublin, Ireland's capital and biggest city, already has rudimentary postal codes. Officials long ago divided up the city's larger neighborhoods into districts labeled "D1" through "D24." The new system will incorporate and add to those existing codes.



Ireland has tried, and failed, to deliver a postal-code system before. But costs—and, until recently, resistance by postal workers—have stymied efforts. The current system comes with a price tag of $32 million and, this time, the stamp of approval of the country's postal service.



The modern world's first, rudimentary postal codes appear to have been used in London in 1856, when the city was divided into geographic sections according to the compass, with labels like N, E and SW. A version of that system survives: Write to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, London, SW1A 1AA.



The antecedents of American ZIP Codes appeared in 1943, when the U.S. post office had to quickly replace men who had gone off to war with letter carriers unfamiliar with neighborhoods. As sorting-machine technology developed, U.S. postal codes became more complex.



In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service tried, and mostly failed, to get Americans to switch to a nine-digit code—the five-digit ZIP, plus four more. The most advanced type of ZIP Code now includes 31 digits. They show up on envelopes as bar codes and are used by businesses sending lots of mail.



An Post, Ireland's postal service, argued for years that postal codes were too expensive and complicated. There were also fears that postal codes would make it easier for private courier services to swoop in, triggering layoffs of postal workers. Supporters quietly argued that codes actually might boost post-office traffic by making it easier to send junk mail.





Like many residents of rural Ireland, Francis McGrath, of Roscommon, doesn't have a house number. To find him, he tells visitors to look for the defibrillator mounted on an old wall outside his farmhouse. Lisa Fleisher/The Wall Street Journal

Noel Dempsey, a former Irish government minister who started the push for postal codes a decade ago, applauds the skill of the postal service. He says that envelopes bearing nothing but his name would be delivered to his home in County Meath, just north of Dublin. But Ireland's technology-driven economy deserves a postal-code system, he says.



"You're portraying yourself as a very modern, fast-moving country," Mr. Dempsey said. "You're way to the forefront in IT, and so on, and you haven't got a post-code system? Embarrassing would be the word I'd use to describe it."



An Post had already developed its own private code system, kept hidden from the public, to help sorting-offices quickly route mail. But it relies on the knowledge of the men and women on the ground to complete the process.



A letter sent to "Rob Heffernan & Family, gold medal winner, Cork," found its way to the Irish race walker shortly after he won a gold medal in the World Athletics Championships in August 2013. Postmen say that fan mail sent simply to "Paul Hewson, Ireland" gets delivered to the front door of the singer better known as Bono.



An Post spokeswoman Anna McHugh said the service now fully supports the introduction of the postal codes. Previous reservations were "overblown in the public arena," she said.



Before the spring rollout of the new system, Irish postal workers are delivering the mail the way they always have. David Power, 32, recently kept a cheat sheet handy when filling in for another worker. It was a well-worn book with the handwritten names of residents on the route, as well as instructions on whether to deliver mail to a box or door slot.



Mr. Power says there is a general rule for delivering mail that could be intended for several different people: Deliver first to the oldest person, then try to figure it out over time.



"After a while you'll get to know who's getting what," he said. "The one fella might be a farmer, and the other fella mightn't be."

[IIOY]

This is hilarious to me because I have encountered this issue.  Over the years of our marriage, while doing Christmas cards, I have questioned H repeatedly about the addresses for all of his Irish relatives because it is the same for all of them despite the fact that none of these people live together.

I actually love Irish addresses because they are short and simple.  English addresses, OTOH, are absurdly long. I have to start writing the address close to the top of the envelope if I want the whole thing to fit vertically.

[emisi]

Each house gets its own postal code? That's crazy. Just use house numbers! What is so difficult about that?

Also, the fact that they had to deliver to the oldest Patrick Murphy first made me laugh.

[IIOY]

Sept 27, 2014 9:50:37 GMT -5 emisi said:

Each house gets its own postal code? That's crazy. Just use house numbers! What is so difficult about that?

Also, the fact that they had to deliver to the oldest Patrick Murphy first made me laugh.

As my husband will tell you, we're talking about the Irish here. LOL

Really, it sounds like the functional equivalent of house numbers, just with a different name...which brings us back to "we're talking about the Irish here."  Bless their hearts.

[Velar Fricative]

Obviously the solution is to not name your son Patrick if your last name is Murphy. The Irish could actually have a legit reason to name their kids names like Pilot Inspektor Murphy.

I giggled at the Bono part.

[Cicero]

It sounds about as sensible as the Czech numbering system where houses are assigned numbers based upon the order in which they were built/registered with the land office. It works brilliantly for someone who needs to look up a deed but not so well for the poor schmick who still needs to consult a map to determine where house number 1 is in relation to house number 3.

Prague and most of the larger towns have added a second number to each house to help out people needing directions but I would advise against getting lost in a village.

[Cicero]

This legit made me LoL. Who wants to send Bono some mail?

[Deleted]

Sept 27, 2014 11:12:34 GMT -5 Cicero said:

This legit made me LoL. Who wants to send Bono some mail?

 Emmy probably sends him nonsensical hatemail.

Sunday Cuntwitch/Cuntwich Sunday, ya fuckface.

[IIOY]

Sept 27, 2014 12:22:26 GMT -5 @helenabonhamcarter said:

Sept 27, 2014 11:12:34 GMT -5 Cicero said:

This legit made me LoL. Who wants to send Bono some mail?

 Emmy probably sends him nonsensical hatemail.

Sunday Cuntwitch/Cuntwich Sunday, ya fuckface.

I will never be able to see or hear reference to Bono without thinking of Emmy's hate boner for him.

[felicia]

My great-great-grandfather and great-uncle were both Patrick Murphys. Considering this, it's surprising that it's taken this long to do something about this.

[origami]

Sept 27, 2014 9:55:21 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 27, 2014 9:50:37 GMT -5 emisi said:

Each house gets its own postal code? That's crazy. Just use house numbers! What is so difficult about that?

Also, the fact that they had to deliver to the oldest Patrick Murphy first made me laugh.

As my husband will tell you, we're talking about the Irish here. LOL

Really, it sounds like the functional equivalent of house numbers, just with a different name...which brings us back to "we're talking about the Irish here."  Bless their hearts.

my mailman can find us so where's the problem? Oh Irish...

SK recently changed to more orderly addresses and even still people don't seem to use them much, except to send mail. Cabs and people get directed by landmarks. So far I'm up to 3 completely different addresses that still manage to make it here. (One road address, one land address, one that bills come to.)

[rupertpenny]

I need to get a refund for a Eurail pass a few years ago and the office was in Ireland. I had to mail back the pass and everything and I remember thinking the address was weird. Anyway, it took YEARS for me to get my refund! That envelop must have passed around to everyone in the village.

Hong Kong doesn't have postal codes either, you usually just include your neighborhood. I'm pretty sure something would get to me if it just had my name, apartment building, and Hong Kong written on it.

[sushi]

My family lives on an island. Their only address is to the island, then you pick up your mail at the post office. About 70% have the same last name. This is why there are so many unique first names.

There's some county in Ireland that mostly is my (maiden) last name, but i think they vary their first names more.

[EllieArroway]

I was in middle school when we got "911 addresses." When our tiny town finally got 911 they had to issue house numbers to everyone so that the emergency personnel would know where to go. Before that our address was Firstname Lastname, Route 1, City, State Zip. Actually I bet I could still address my grandparents' mail that way and it would make it to them.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Sept 28, 2014 11:36:37 GMT -5 EllieArroway said:

I was in middle school when we got "911 addresses." When our tiny town finally got 911 they had to issue house numbers to everyone so that the emergency personnel would know where to go. Before that our address was Firstname Lastname, Route 1, City, State Zip. Actually I bet I could still address my grandparents' mail that way and it would make it to them.

Same here! And in a town where everyone is named Johnson or Anderson, its a wonder the mailmen figured anything out before then.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

I checked for The Onion logo at "Can't find the house? Just stop someone on the street!" How quaint!

[pescalita]

The Onion and Emmy were my first thoughts as well.

I have a friend who dated a guy who lived in Ireland for a while (he had an app startup, and business brought him here often). He and his friends would test the mail system like this, I can't remember the example, but it always got there.

[wawa]

When my sister and I were in Ireland riding horses from town to town, our directions were just a line highlighted on a topo map. There wasn't a single street name or anything mentioned. Just the occasional village name, and the name of the inn/house/cottage/whatever.

Now I know why.