Letter addressed to ‘that boy with the glasses’ reaches recipient

Dublin

A vaguely addressed letter proved that in one small town in Ireland, the postman really does know everyone.

 The note was sent to Barry Henderson, 32, who is studying for a PhD in modern history at Queen's University in Belfast, by a friend who wanted to test the delivery system.

 The vague address in full was: “Your man Henderson, that boy with the glasses who is doing a PhD up here at Queen’s in Belfast. Buncrana, County Donegal, Ireland.”

 A note inside read: "If this has arrived, you live in a village.”  The note travelled 85 miles from Belfast to Buncrana, which has a population of around 7,000. The postman knew Henderson’s wife, Roisin, a journalist with the Inish Times newspaper, and handed it in to her office.

 Mrs Henderson shared a picture of the envelope on Facebook writing: “A guy Barry knows sent him this from Belfast, with that wee note included inside it. The postman delivered it to the Inish Times office when I was out, asking if it could possibly be for my husband. I think it's brilliant. Only in Donegal."

 The tale prompted amusement from those who spotted the picture.Harry Kerr commented, “Had an Amazon order once take 6 months to arrive in Donegal, having been misdirected to Senegal, but it got here, albeit a wee bit dusty and sandy. Good old An Post.”

 Jenni Doherty added, “I once sent a letter from Derry to a friend who lived off Baggot St in Dublin (I couldn't remember the exact address), but described it as three doors up from a chippy with a red door. She got it too.”