30th Anniversary in Castleisland

On Friday 12th February 2010 we celebrated our 30th Anniversary in Castleisland. We did this on the very day that we opened our credit union office there in 1980. To mark the occasion, there was a reception in our Main Street office in Castleisland, along with €30 prizes on the hour, every hour. It was a great opportunity for members and founder volunteers to get together and reminisce on years gone by.

The original volunteers who set up the Castleisland office 30 years ago.

Front Row left to right: Fintan Ryan, Manager, Tralee Credit Union, Agnes Twomey, Ted Kennelly, Anne Courtney and Peter Pierse Treasurer Tralee Credit Union
Back Row left to right: Margaret Sheehy O’Connor, David Costello, Kathleen Goulding Linehan, Maura Hickey Hartnett, Mary Cotter and Mike Brosnan. Missing from the photos: Mary Golden, Phil Hartnett Nolan, Donie Coffey, Nora Hartnett Curtin and Martin McCarthy (RIP).

Founding member and local pharmacist, Ted Kennelly, spoke a few words at the anniversary saying “the setting up of a Credit Union in Castleisland was first initiated by the late Dan Kellegher of Tralee Credit Union. After Tralee Credit Union’s Annual General Meeting in Tralee in 1980, Dan turned to Ted, the late Martin McCarthy, Anne Courtney and Mary Golden and said “right lads, the Castleisland office will start next Friday, you will learn as you go along”.

Ted said they had no premises, but Kitty Downey the librarian gave them a downstairs room in the old library in Castleisland. With her help, the office opened the following week. From there, the office opened once a week on Friday nights from 7pm to 8pm and was manned by voluntary staff.

The first people to be involved in the Castleisland office were Anne Courtney, Mary Golden, Ted Kennelly, the late Martin McCarthy (Rest in Peace) Donie Coffey, Phil Hartnett Nolan, Mary Cotter, Maura Hickey Hartnett, Kathleen Goulding Lenihan, Margaret Sheehy O’Connor, Agnes Twomey, Nora Hartnett Curtin and David Costello. Guidance and support was provided by Tralee Credit Union’s Board of Directors namely Dan Kellegher, Paddy O’Grady, Paddy Dillane and Noreen Lynch, all now deceased.

As the office got busier, more volunteers were recruited to include Betty Twomey, Tim and John McCarthy, Marie McSweeney O’Connor, Mike Brosnan and the late Kathleen Fitzgerald and the late Tim Teahan. After 3 years at Castleisland Library, the credit union moved to Church Street where the Garda Station now is, and remained there from 1983 to 1999. In 1999,  we moved to our current building in Main Street, Castleisland.

Origins of The Credit Union