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20 Jan 2026
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20 Jan 2026
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An old phone box with a new use
Robertstown has stepped back in time.
An old restored phone box, typical of those seen in every town and village across Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s has returned.
The then Department of Posts and Telegraphs (often abbreviated to p & t), which ceased to exist in 1984, had responsibility for public payphones in the days before mobile phones all but made them redundant.
An original phone booth has been restored and placed in the centre of the village, adjacent to St Bridget’s Park, where it was originally sited.
The canal came to Robertstown some 240 years ago and it was used by some 100,0000 passengers in the middle of the 19th century.
The reintroduction of the phone box is part of a plan to restore tourism to the village, a project which will be enhanced by the arrival of the greenway, which itself will facilitate walkers and cyclists using the canal.
Thomas Bagnall of Robertstown Tidy Towns said the group is seeking heritage recognition for the village.
“We are hoping to get visitors and tourists back here,” he said, adding that the group is working with relevant agencies.
The cost of restoring and transporting the phone box came to €7,500.
It’s no longer possible to install a public payphone so the box will instead house a potentially life saving defibrillator and this will happen as soon as ESB Networks provide electricity, a light and a meter within the structure.
“We would like to see it done as quickly as possible,” said Mr Bagnall.
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