Potential credit union merger sparks interest

A TALKING point in Charleville this week was the proposed merger of Charleville and Clonmel, Co. Tipperary Credit Union branches.

A report in the Irish Independent by their financial reporter, Charlie Weston, stated that, should talks be successful, the merger may occur within six or seven weeks following the completion of the due diligence process, which will come under the scrutiny of the Central Bank.

Charleville Credit Union, which has 12,100 members, has been prevented from holding an annual general meeting or paying a dividend to its members for the past five years.

The branch was formed in 1963 by a group of local people headed by the late Joe Lambert following their feasibility study of the then new phenomenon in money management known as a credit union, which accommodated ordinary working people who had no access to banking institutions.

The other founding members were Harry Allen, Milo Morrissey, Michael Byrnes, Eileen White, Mai Spillane, Tom Rea, Finbarr McCarthy, Tom Daly (Ardnageehy), Paddy O’Riordan, dentist, J. J. Creagh, Bill Nugent, Jim O’Sullivan (teacher), Jimmy O’Connor (Fortlands) and Mick Garvey.

The first official business of the new branch was transacted at the Courthouse, Main Street, Charleville on 19 March 19, 1963.

The branch operates out of the former National Bank building at Main Street, which was opened in 1835 by Daniel O’Connell. It is one of the most imposing buildings on the Charleville streetscape. The Credit Union branch was doubled in size as a millennium project in 2000.