Dublin postal districts are used by Ireland's postal service, known as An Post, to sort mail in Dublin. The system is similar to that used in cities in other European countries until they adopted national postal code systems in the 1960s and '70s. These will be incorporated into the new national postcode system to be introduced in 2011.[1]
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The postal district system was introduced in 1917 by the British government, as a practical way to organise local postal distribution. This followed the example of other cities, notably London, first subdivided into ten districts in 1857, and Liverpool, the first city in Britain or Ireland to have postcodes, from 1864. The letter "D" was assigned to designate Dublin. The new Irish government retained the postal district system, but district numbers were not used by the public until 1961, when they were added to street signs. Prior to 1961, street signs only displayed the street name in Irish and English.
The number of districts was increased as the city grew, and in the 1970s, large districts were subdivided. Dublin 5 was split, with the coastal part retaining the "5" and the inland part becoming Dublin 17. Dublin 8, Ballyfermot, one of the city's fastest growing suburbs, became Dublin 10, along with Palmerstown and Chapelizod. However, Dublin 10 was subsequently split again, with Palmerstown and Chapelizod forming Dublin 20.[2]
In 1985, Dublin 6 was divided, with some areas, such as Templeogue, Kimmage and Terenure becoming part of a new district in order to facilitate processing of mail by a new delivery office for those areas. Residents of some areas objected to the assignation of the next available number, "Dublin 26," for the new postal district, citing property devaluation: the higher numbered districts typically represented less affluent and less central areas.[3] An Post ultimately relented, and the district became known as Dublin 6W. However, the eastern half of the old D6 postcode area remained "Dublin 6" rather than "Dublin 6E".
The postal district appears with one or two digits (or in the case of one district, a digit and a letter) appearing at the end of addresses, e.g.:
In most cases, odd numbers are used for addresses on the Northside of the River Liffey, while even numbers are on addresses on the Southside. Exceptions to this are the Phoenix Park (along with a small area between the Park and the River Liffey), and Chapelizod Village which, although on the Northside, are parts of the Dublin 8 and Dublin 20 postal districts respectively.
The numbering system is not used for some areas in County Dublin, such as Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock, Lucan or Swords, though it is used for other county locations, for example Foxrock, Kilshane, Knocklyon and Tallaght.
| Dublin's postal districts | |
|---|---|
| Northside, covering local government area | Southside, covering local government area |
| Dublin 1 (D1) Dublin | Dublin 2 (D2) Dublin |
| Dublin 3 (D3) Dublin | Dublin 4 (D4) Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
| Dublin 5 (D5) Dublin | Dublin 6 (D6) Dublin, |
| Dublin 7 (D7) Dublin | Dublin 6W (D6W) Dublin, South Dublin |
| Dublin 8 (D8) Dublin | Dublin 8 (D8) Dublin |
| Dublin 9 (D9) Dublin, Fingal | Dublin 10 (D10) Dublin |
| Dublin 11 (D11) Dublin | Dublin 12 (D12) Dublin |
| Dublin 13 (D13) Dublin, Fingal | Dublin 14 (D14) Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South Dublin |
| Dublin 15 (D15) Fingal | Dublin 16 (D16) Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South Dublin |
| Dublin 17 (D17) Dublin, Fingal | Dublin 18 (D18) Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
| Dublin 20 (D20) Dublin, South Dublin | |
| Dublin 22 (D22) South Dublin | |
| Dublin 24 (D24) South Dublin | |
| "Co. Dublin" Fingal, South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, and small pockets of Meath | |
It is proposed this system will be abolished with the introduction of a national postcode system, but no details have been released.[4]
An Post has stated that, with just one exception, no street name occurs more than once in any postal district.
Successive Ministers for Communications since 2005 have announced plans to introduce a full postcode system across the state. The plans remain controversial and no firm timetable exists for their introduction. It is envisaged that the pre-existing Dublin district numbers would be a component of the full postcode for relevant addresses. For example, an address in Dublin 4 might have the postcode D04 123.[6]
In 2006, The Sunday Times reported that the current system of postal districts would be retained and any postcode system will be placed after the current district number but the precise details of the system were not released .[7]
However, it was announced on 20 September 2009, that a national postcode system for Ireland would be implemented in 2011.[8]
Public awareness of Dublin postal districts allows occasional use in marketing. Dublin n is usually abbreviated to Dn, as in: