Hume to launch credit union celebrations

Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume and broadcaster Marian Finucane will help launch the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Irish credit unions movement today.

A portrait of the founders of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) will be unveiled today at the organisation’s Dublin offices.

Mr Hume is a founder member of the first credit union in the North while Ms Finucane’s aunt Nora Herlihy helped found the movement in Ireland.

The ILCU represents 521 local credit unions across the island of Ireland.

The financial institutions hold €13.4bn of savings and €15.1bn in assets.

Up to 40% of all savings or deposit accounts in Ireland are held in credit unions.