Three Bank of Ireland branches close their doors in County Cavan

Following the closure of 88 Bank of Ireland branches across the country today, the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has reaffirmed the commitment of credit unions to remaining open in local communities across the island of Ireland.

Bank of Ireland is today closing its branches in Arva, Cootehill and Kingscourt with the doors set to shut for the final time at 4pm. The bank had written to customers to inform them of the closure date, as well advise them of banking services available after this date including at An Post locations, digital and phone services, and other remaining branches in the county.

In Monaghan, branches in Castleblayney and Clones are also closing and, elsewhere in the region, branches in Granard (Longford), Castlepollard (Westmeath), Manorhamilton (Leitrim), and Athboy (Meath) will serve their last day today, Friday, October 8.

For Cootehill, in banking terms, just 10 years ago the town boasted three fully operating branches - BOI, AIB, and Ulster Bank - the latter two closing in 2012 and 2017 respectively.

With Kingscourt also on the chopping block, it leaves the nearest BOI branch to Cootehill 16 kilometres away in Co Monaghan. For Kingscourt customers, the nearest will be Carrickmacross.

The closures signal a further erosion of the local banking retail landscape. Ulster Bank has also signalled it is to exit the Republic of Ireland market.

Ulster Bank will eventually close its remaining three branches in Co Cavan, as well as others in Monaghan Town, Longford, Mullingar and Navan.

However, bank branches in Ballyconnell and Ballyjamesduff are among 25 Ulster Bank branches set to be traded to Permanent TSB.

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) has issued a statement today emphasising how the movement has been at the heart of Irish towns and villages for over 60 years and continue to put members’ interests ahead of profit.

The institutions offer members a range of financial services including access to cash and loans, and increasingly debit cards and current accounts.

The ILCU is encouraging Bank of Ireland customers affected by today’s closures to contact their local credit union to find out about the range of financial services they offer.

There are over 300 credit unions in Ireland, North and South, many with sub offices, giving access in over 530 locations across local communities, each providing excellent services to members.

Commenting on today’s news, ILCU Head of Communication Paul Bailey said, “Today’s closures only further highlight the profit over people ethos of the so called pillar banks. Many towns and villages across Ireland today will be left without access to a banking service including basic cash withdrawals. In contrast, credit unions have been at the heart of Irish communities for over six decades and remain dedicated to those communities.

"They exist solely to provide financial services to their members who are their shareholders. Credit unions offer a range of services to their members including, loans, savings, current accounts, debit cards, apps and online banking. With the right support from the Government and the Central Bank, credit unions can continue to be present in every town and village in Ireland and become a community bank offering real alternatives to people who are not happy with their traditional bank.

"Credit unions will not desert their members. Their doors are open to new members where people will find friendly, familiar and trusted staff who will always go the extra mile on behalf of their members.”