Postal worker Ann-Marie going above and beyond during crisis
Ann-Marie Molloy, who delivers the post around Ballymoney and Tara Hill
Ann-Marie at Hughes’ Foodmarket in Ballymoney with the proprietor, Bryan
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At the height of the crisis, An Post workers rose to the challenge of Covid-19 and braved their daily routes despite the risks, getting involved in checking in on the elderly, delivering information and newspapers as well as token items, especially for children.
It's clear that they were there for the most vulnerable, and kept people connected to other parts of the world through vital communications.
Tara Hill's Ann-Marie Molloy was one of those workers, and she comes from a long line of An Post workers, both male and female as far back as her grandfather.
An Post said that she stood out as someone who really responded well, describing her as a 'shining example of all that's best about An Post'.
Locals in Ballymoney and Tara Hill would surely agree but, for Ann-Marie, service with a smile and a helping hand is all part of the job.
'I've worked for An Post seven years now in March and you could say it's in the blood, but during Covid, it has been a very busy workload during a tough time.
'You're conscious that you don't want to bring anything in to anyone else, so you're constantly using your hand sanitiser and making sure you're safe so it's the same for everybody else.
'We staggered our starting times to facilitate social distancing, but in normal times we would check in on elderly people daily anyway out on our route. We really upped the ante just to make sure they had everything they needed. They just needed that human contact, a conversation once a day because some of them were just so lonely, it was terrible on them.
'I know them so well at this stage, I'd nearly have adopted some of them,' she laughed.
One moment in particular really sticks out for Ann-Marie as she looks back now.
'There was a couple on my route, they've five children but they're all away from home. I used to bring out the paper on a Sunday and he'd get me to do the shopping for them.
'But this particular week it was the wife's birthday on Saturday, and he got me to get flowers, which was grand. We had to hide the flowers from her, but on Saturday I decided to call up with a birthday cake, and just her emotion - it meant so much to her and she was so delighted. She just so happened to be on a Zoom call with her kids at the time.
'When those things happen, you feel like you've done something good for someone else and it's positive. I then got a lovely card off them a few weeks later and one thing that touched me was that they said that they didn't mind lockdown because I made lockdown very easy for them'.
Ann-Marie said that she felt extra responsibility on her shoulders, but it wasn't a burden, more-so a duty.
'During this time you really do make that extra effort to check in with them to see if they're okay. The route I was on in Tara Hill and Ballymoney, it has a special place in my heart as it's home I suppose.
'I'm very proud of An Post up and down the country, I think we've done a very good job and it was a great way for people to keep in touch. I enjoyed seeing grandchildren writing to their grannies and granddads and vice versa, it was just lovely'.
Along with Ann-Marie, An Post congratulated Gerry O'Callaghan in Gorey and Dickie Murphy in Enniscorthy for going above and beyond along with all other local staff.
A full list of services in response to Covid-19 is available on www.anpost.com/Covid-19.