The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is a trade association for credit unions in Ireland. It operates in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is an unincorporated body governed by a board of directors elected by member credit unions.
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The first credit unions in Ireland were initiated in the 1950s by three people working in Dublin: Nora Herlihy, a National School teacher from Ballydesmond; Sean Forde, an employee at a Dublin bakery; and Séamus P. MacEoin, a civil servant. The economy of the Republic was depressed, urban poverty and emigration were increasing, and the credit union movement was envisaged as a way to help working class people manage their finances. The ILCU was established in 1960.
The ILCU represents credit unions in social partnership negotiations and lobbying national governments and European Union bodies. It does marketing and research and development. It provides services for members, including legal advice, secretarial service, human resources, information technology, training, and business services. It also takes responsibility for savings protection and monitoring and supervision of member unions.
Each credit union is an autonomous organisation and manages its own affairs. In the Republic of Ireland, the Central Bank of Ireland has overall responsibity for credit unions, in order to protect members’ funds and maintain the financial stability and well-being of credit unions in general. A separate Registrar of Credit Unions for Northern Ireland regulates ILCU members in that jurisdiction.[1]