Benny Byrne and Stephen Deveney often met in Cooke’s Bar for a pint and they invariably ended up wondering about the possibility of starting up a credit union in the Shantalla area. They were greatly encouraged by Nora Herlihy, a Cork lady who had done a great deal to spread the credit union idea. So they wrote a letter to the Galway Observer inviting interest in their idea. They got one reply, from Jack Phelan in Ashe Road. They eventually organised a meeting for the formation of a study group in Benny’s house at 20 Shantalla Place on September 26, 1963.
Their first public meeting was in the Presentation School on October 13, 1963. More than 50 people turned up and 28 applied for membership. Our photograph shows the first board of directors who had their first board meeting a week later and settled on the name St Anthony’s Credit Union. They are, back row, left to right: Tony Boyle (treasurer ), Jack Phelan, John Joyce, Mattie Colohan (vice-president ), Frank Gaffney, Benny Byrne (secretary ), Mick Sullivan. Front row; Ambrose Noonan, Molly Kelly, Anne Durkan, Mary Conroy and Stephen Deveney. Inset: Tom Higgins.
They also settled on the details of weekly collections, office hours and rooms in the CYMS hall at a weekly rent of five shillings (25p ). After three weeks, they had collected £63 of which £15 was set aside for emergencies in the absence of any loan applications. Their first loan application, in the amount of £5 was applied for on December 9. By May of 1964, membership had grown to 140 members with total savings of £635 while over 55 loans totalling £794 had been approved. The following year they bought their first fixed asset, an adding machine, for £39.
In 1968, they appointed Michael Joyce as a full-time clerical officer. The following year, they became a limited company, upgraded the clerical officer to manager and appointed its second full-time employee, Breda Glynn.
Relations with the CYMS were always very good but there was a growing realisation that the union would soon need a headquarters appropriate to its standing in the community. St Anthony’s were facing a growing number of loan applications and increases in the size of the loans being sought, so a special sub-committee was set up and they managed to buy a premises in Mainguard Street for £20,000.
Shortly after the formation of St Anthony’s CU, a credit union was formed in the Claddagh. Collections were held in the old Claddagh school and the union received substantial voluntary support and enjoyed a period of growth for about 10 years, but for unknown reasons, the effort began to slow down and the work was left to a few.
In 1977, after protracted negotiations, St Anthony’s amalgamated with the Claddagh Credit Union which now meant they had 3,150 members. Neither union wanted to lose their individual name, so on September 18, 1978, the title St Anthony’s and Claddagh Credit Union was registered. The Mainguard Street premises opened on March 31, 1977 and the higher than ever profile attracted larger than ever increases in savings. In February 1982, 110 new members joined. The following year, they managed to buy a premises at the rear of their Mainguard Street building which helped expand the business.
In 1997, they expanded further by opening a branch at Westside. They also attended meetings in Oughterard to help set up a credit union there. This organisation functioned for about 10 years until 2009, when it amalgamated with St Anthony’s, who now had branches in Mainguard Street, Westside and Oughterard.
In 2022, St Anthony’s had to rebrand and change its title to Claddagh Credit Union for two reasons; their existing title was too long to fit on current account cards and the term ‘Claddagh’ is an international symbol for friendship.
Our photographs show the façade of the CYMS where their office was located in the early years, and the façade of the Mainguard Street building when they moved into it.
Claddagh Credit Union now has some 50,000 members. It has funded many a car loan over the years, many a holiday, many a purchase. It is a remarkable success story. Long may it continue!
