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From Citizendium, the Citizens' Compendium

The GPO, or General Post Office, is the headquarters for the Irish Postal service. It has gained fame in Irish history for its role in the 1916 Easter Rising, where Irish Rebels used the GPO to control the entire Sackville street (now O' Connell street) area for the week. British forces, with the aid of the gunboat Helga, shelled the GPO and the bullet marks can still be seen on its classical front pillars. While the taking of the GPO by the rebel forces marked the beginning of the rising, the GPO was also the scene of the rebels' capitulation at the end of the week.

It is a commanding building at the heart of Dublin's inner city and is built according to a classical style architecture. A tourist trap, the GPO has a statue of Cuchullain standing on its front and an original copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic inside.