Patrick Coughlan named Cork Person of the Month for helping people in financial difficulty

(Left to right front): Manus O’Callaghan, Awards Organiser; Ursula Collins, MABS; Pat Coughlan, Cork Person of the Month; Mary Coughlan. (left to right rear): Louise McNamara, The Metropole Hotel; Clara O’Mahoney, AM O’Sullivan PR; Gill Coughlan. Picture: Vitaliy Makhnanov

A man whose work has helped thousands of people in financial difficulty for over 40 years has been named Cork Person of the Month for May.

In the early 1990s, Patrick Coughlan helped set up a free service in the Cork city credit union where he worked – a service that proved hugely successful and ultimately evolved into the nationwide Money and Budgeting Advice Service (MABS).