Michael Moynihan: Christmas a reminder that the postman is a vital part of our community

There are now plenty of alternatives to the postman, but I have yet to hear anyone talk fondly of the impact of such operators on matters such as traffic, parking, and, in some cases, the reliable arrival of purchased goods

It's been said that the postman represents the State at its most benevolent, a gentle facilitator of communication. File photo: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

You may be familiar with this sentence, long associated with the US Postal Service. It’s a bit grandiose — not surprising, it’s a slightly cannibalised extract from Herodotus’s Histories. We’ll leave the apparent affront to grammar to one side (‘neither’ used with four different items?) in favour of general approval of the sentiment.