If you don't have a post box, you certaily have a problem.
Each box has its own postal code!
In Ireland you not just have an address, you have an eircode.
Before renting a room or buying a house or apartment - ask the counter party for its eircode.
- @matjung
What is Eircode?
Eircode is Ireland’s postcode system, launched in July 2015. An Eircode is a seven-character alpha-numeric postcode. Each Eircode is unique to a postal address and its geographic location.
Over 35% of addresses in Ireland share their address with at least one other property, making it difficult to find the location of a specific address. Unlike other countries where postcodes define a cluster or group of addresses, in Ireland a unique Eircode is assigned to each residential and business postal address.
How Eircode Works
An Eircode is made up of two parts, a Routing Key, and a Unique Identifier.
The Routing Key consists of three characters. This is a combination of numbers and letters and identifies the principal post town related to a building or property’s postal address. The Routing Key characters are the same for all Eircodes assigned to addresses within that postal area.
The second part is the Unique Identifier and consists of four characters. The unique identifier is made up of numbers and letters. The Unique Identifier is unique to an address and its geographic location – it distinguishes one address from another within a postal area.
A typical Eircode might read A65 F4E2.
Routing Key:
A65
The first part (a Routing Key) consists of three characters and defines a principal post town span of delivery.
Unique Identifier:
FE42
The second part (a Unique Identifier) is unique to an address and distinguishes one address from another.
When Eircode launched in 2015, Eircodes were assigned to over 2.2m postal addresses. Eircode used a postal address database supplied by An Post GeoDirectory DAC (a subsidiary of An Post) to assign these Eircodes. An Post GeoDirectory maintains the address data, amending and adding addresses and geographic locations to the database.
Each month, an updated database is supplied to Eircode by An Post GeoDirectory. Eircodes are then assigned to any new postal addresses that have been added to the database.
Once a new Eircode has been assigned, the postal address and geographic location are added to the Eircode Finder, a public website that allows you to search for Eircodes by address or map.
The Eircode database is also available through a licence agreement for use by businesses or organisations – for example delivery companies, service providers or emergency services.
