On the acroteria of the pediment are three statues by John Smyth:[6] when facing the building Mercury on the left, with his Caduceus and purse; Fidelity on the right, with a hound at her feet and a key held in her right hand (due to these features it is argued[by whom?]

[12] The building was destroyed by fire in the course of the rebellion, save for the granite facade, and not rebuilt until 1929, by the Irish Free State government.

The museum was closed at the end of May 2015 and replaced by a new visitor centre to commemorate the 1916 Rising, "GPO Witness History", in March 2016.

In 1935, in commemoration of the Rising, a statue depicting the death of the mythical hero Cúchulainn sculpted by Oliver Sheppard in 1911 was installed at the command post in the centre of the GPO main hall and is now housed in the front of the building.

Despite its significance in the history of Irish independence, ground rent for the GPO continued to be paid to English and American landlords until the 1980s.

Nelson's Pillar was located in the centre of O'Connell Street adjacent to the GPO, until it was destroyed by Irish republicans in an explosion in 1966.

The Hibernia statue was depicted on the obverse of a commemorative 2 euro coin marking the Centenary of the Easter Rising in 2016.