Don’t be fooled by the nondescript name: With a facade of Ionic columns and Greco-Roman pilasters 60m long (197 ft.) and 17m high (56 ft.), this is more than a post office—it is the symbol of Irish freedom. Built between 1815 and 1818, it was the main stronghold of the Irish Volunteers during the Easter Rising. On Easter Sunday, 1916, Patrick Pearse stood on its steps and read a proclamation declaring a free Irish Republic. It began, “In every generation the Irish people have asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty.” Then he and an army of supporters barricaded themselves inside. A siege ensued that ultimately involved much of the north of the city. Before it was over, the building was all but destroyed. It had barely been restored before civil war broke out in 1922, and it was heavily damaged again. It’s still a working post office today, although the small Letters, Lives, and Liberty Museum does house a few diverting exhibits, including the original Declaration of Independence. That’s all very much a secondary attraction, though; touching the bullet holes in the walls out front is a far more powerful way to experience a sense of this building’s history.