Ireland day 1563. Thursday 08 January 2026- An Post

Today’s summary	An unexpected day in Malahide following yesterday’s ferry cancellation. In the morning, did some more preparation for our upcoming move. Then in the afternoon went into Dublin to get a packing box and then to go to the main An Post GPO in O’Connell street to send it off. Afterwards walked to Table 45 for tapas. Caught a train back from Pearse then a relaxing evening with just snacks for dinner followed by some iPad Netflix.
Today’s weather	Damp grey and overcast with rain in the evening. Moderate northerly wind. Appx 5c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): An Post and Table 45

Commentary

We were a bit caught unawares by today. We had expected to be in the UK, driving up the M6 rather than being in Malahide, courtesy of the Stena cancellation yesterday. But we treated the day as a bonus so rather than sitting around wondering what to do, we put on our thinking-caps and worked out a plan to make the most of the unexpected hours.

Our first task then, after breakfast, was to do some more sorting out and packing, ready for our move in a few weeks time. We have managed to accumulate more possessions than I had imagined, in the four and a half short years we have been here. Now that we are inventorising it all, it’s a bit daunting working out how we are going to transport it all, or otherwise deploy it, between now and the end of the month. Still, prior planning and proper preparation, etc. etc., and I’m sure we will manage it one way or another.

We marked the completion of the morning’s work with a cup of coffee and some biscuits, then decided we needed to go into Dublin. In our morning rationalisations, we had uncovered a number of large heavy hardback books which we wanted to go back to the UK. But they were too bulky to fit into the already-overloaded Yaris, and too heavy to go in a suitcase. So Plan B had to be deployed – we would post them instead.

We didn’t have a box to put them in, which was why a trip into Dublin was called for. Eaton’s, the stationers, sells suitable cardboard packing boxes and is also conveniently next door to the main An Post office in O’Connell street. (It’s actually the main GPO of Easter 1916 notoriety).

So we took an early afternoon diesel into Connolly, walked to Easons and got our box, then dropped into the An Post to send it off. It all went straightforwardly and cost about €30 for the box and postage. Certainly cheaper than an airfare!

By the time this was all sorted, it was about 3pm and we were getting hungry. So we walked across town and treated ourselves to a tapas lunch at Table 45. Our current go-to Spanish restaurant in south east Dublin. It was delicious and the glass of Malbec went down very nicely with it too.

We had plans to go back to Fallon & Byrne afterwards to get some vegetables. But when we came out of the restaurant it was grey and starting to rain so we scrapped that idea and headed back to Pearse. After only a short wait, a fast Dundalk diesel arrived to whisk us back to Malahide. We were back in the flat by about 6pm.

Because we’d had such a substantial lunch, neither of us felt in need of much dinner. So we just snacked on some leftover aloo gobi and peshwari naan that we’d brought back from dinner last night. It was tasty and did the job perfectly.

Now it’s time to get out the magnifying glass and watch a bit of Netflix on the iPad. I never thought I’d say it – but I do really miss the TV!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Il Capo – a tiny Italian restaurant under the railway bridge on Talbot Street. It’s said to make the best pizza in Ireland	Eason’s. It occupies a similar ecological niche to W H Smith in the UK, but seems to sell a much wider range of stationery

Tunnel under the railway on Sandwith Street	Erne Terrace – tiny cottages right under the railway line

In Table 45. Just like Chef’s Table! a great discovery and they do excellent cocktails as well as tapas	Diesel delight

Inside the An Post building. A temple to the postal service!