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A BRIEF OF KILDRESS CREDIT UNION HISTORY
On 25th January 1970 Kildress Credit Union was officially launched following a lot of planning by a group of parishioners led by Fr Thomas Woolsey, who was curate in the Parish at the time.  Some of the early Directors and Supervisors of Kildress Credit Union in 1970 pictured with Fr Thomas Woolsey
A year later, at the Annual General Meeting on 24th January 1971, chairman Mr James Hagan was pleased to announce that Kildress Credit Union had set a record for a first year Credit Union, having accumulated £12,000 in shares. Up to this point Kildress Credit Union had not been registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act. Subsequently, on the same night a second meeting was held to organise the setting up of the newly registered Kildress Credit Union Ltd. Mr James Hagan retained the position of chair.
At this time the Credit Union had no premises, with meetings being held in the Parochial House in Dunamore (courtesy of Fr Woolsey) or in St Joseph’s Hall, Killeenan. Both St Joseph’s Hall and St Mary’s Hall in Dunamore were used for business, with all collectors being directors and other volunteers.
At the Annual General Meeting on 22nd January 1973 Mr Hagan was able to announce that a building site had been purchased for a new premises in Dunamore. Planning approval had been obtained and tenders submitted. Also, at that meeting Mr Hagan referred to Fr Woolsey who had moved on to Moortown. He paid tribute to the work and time Fr Woolsey had given to the setting up of Kildress Credit Union Ltd.
On 13th January 1975 the Annual General Meeting of Kildress Credit Union Ltd was held in the new Premises in Dunamore. Mr Jack Gorman, Field Officer with the Irish League of Credit Unions was in attendance. In his address Mr Gorman stressed the importance of ?bringing new people on to the Board of Directors. Field officers were employed by the ILCU to visit Credit Unions to see how they were functioning and to offer help and guidance. Today their title has been changed to Senior Business Advisors.
Throughout these early years of the Credit Union in Kildress the Directors and Supervisors continued to take part in information and training courses in order to make Kildress Credit Union Ltd as compliant and successful as possible. All the work so far in the Credit Union was being done on a voluntary basis but with growth it became obvious that paid help was needed. In 1977 a part-time book-keeper was employed which was a great help.
In 1980 it was decided that day time opening hours would need to be introduced to facilitate members. Up until then the Credit Union was only open on Friday nights. Subsequently opening hours were extended to take in Tuesday and Saturday mornings from 11.00 am until 1.00 pm.
Much was being done in the Parish for the promotion of the Credit Union. In the late seventies a parish newsletter was produced on a monthly basis and the Credit Union ensured that each month’s issue had an article. With an eye to the future collections of savings for minors were introduced in the two Primary Schools in the Parish and participation by pupils in the schools in the annual Credit Union Poster competition was organised each year.
Promotion was obviously working as in the early 1990s assets of Kildress Credit Union Ltd passed the £1million mark with the Loan Book passing the same milestone just over a year later.
Kildress Credit Union Ltd became computerised in the 1995-1996 year. A lot of voluntary help from the Directors, Supervisors and Staff was needed in order to get all files put on to computer but the advantages were immediately obvious.
In the year 2005/2006 the assets of Kildress Credit Union Ltd passed the £4million mark. Three years later the assets had passed £5 million.
At present Kildress Credit Union holds shares in excess of £6 million. Three members of staff are employed and it is an undoubted integral part of Kildress parish.
Tributes have to be paid to the foresight of Fr Thomas Woolsey back in 1969/70 and to the dedication and hard work of those founding directors and supervisors who brought the Credit Union movement to Kildress.
Over the 50 years of its existence Kildress Credit Union, like all other Credit Unions, has seen many changes and has overcome many hurdles. Records of loan applications show how the community has moved from being farm centred to being a community with more diverse needs but the Credit Union continues to meet those needs.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IRISH CREDIT UNION
The Irish credit union movement was founded as a result of the efforts of three dynamic, pioneering and entrepreneurial people namely Nora Herlihy from Ballydesmond, a teacher based in Dublin, Seán Forde an employee of Peter Kennedy Bakers, Dublin and Séamus P. MacEoin from Kilkenny, a Civil Servant working in Dublin.
In Dublin in the 1950’s, they witnessed the effects of high unemployment: sickness, malnutrition, money lending, hunger, poor clothing, poor housing, and inevitably, emigration of one parent or of the whole family. In addition, state unemployment benefits were low and did not last indefinitely leaving many families in abject poverty.
The founders recognised the root of the problem as lying in the scarce availability and poor management of money and resolved to identify a system that would allow people to gain more control over their finances.
By 2018, credit unions affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions have €13.4bn in savings, with loans of almost €4.5bn. But figures only tell part of the story. Let’s give credit where it’s most due….to the thousands of Irish men and women whose achievements in their own communities could never be recorded in a balance sheet.
Whilst every care has been taken in the production of this web site, the Credit Union, or any of its staff, cannot be held responsible for any omissions, errors or other mistakes made. Please note at information or advice given in this website can be subject to change without notice.
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