Nora Herlihy
Born in Ballydesmond, on the Cork-Kerry Border, Nora was a National School Teacher of largely under-privileged children. She worked as a teacher in Dublin in the 1950's where daily she witnessed the effects of high unemployment on her pupils: sickness, malnutrition, moneylending, hunger, poor clothing, poor housing, and inevitably, emigration of one parent or of the whole family. In addition, State unemployment benefits were low and did not last indefinitely leaving many families in abject poverty. Nora recognised the root of the problem as lying in the scarce availability and poor management of money and resolved to identify a system that would allow people to gain more control over their finances.
As a student of the Liberal Arts Extramural Course in UCD she fell upon ‘co-operation’ as a concept and reality through T O’Hogain, himself and extra-mural student, but in social and economic studies. He invited her to Séamus P. MacEoin’s paper on co-operation in December 1953. At that meeting, of which Nora Herlihy was chair, a fuller understanding of what a co-operative system might achieve emerged.
Impressed, Nora formed the Dublin Central Co-operative Society Ltd (DCCS) with Tomas O’Hogain on March 6th 1954. It was set up to create employment through workers co-operatives and neutralise at their source the forces which caused emigration. Under the influence of The National Co-Operative Council the DCCS became a co-operative information service. Nora was asked to form a sub committee to examine the whole structure of credit unions. The sub committee of the council also included Sean Forde, Séamus P. MacEoin and Muriel Gahan of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association and Country Markets.
A meeting of minds took place at the Daonscoil (folkschool) in Red Island, Skerries in 1957. The theme was co-operation and the week long event organised by the Council. Such was the enthusiasm that the Credit Union idea generated at the Daonscoil the three, Nora, Sean and Séamus then formed the Credit Union Extension Service (CUES). Nora carried out extensive research on the issue and began the promotion of the credit unions idea in Ireland. Out of CUES emerged the fledging Credit Union Movement.
The first two Irish credit unions were founded under Nora's guiding influence, one within a co-operative in Dublin, with an associational common bond, in Dun Laoghaire the second, Donore Avenue Credit Union, within a large urban community in the centre of Dublin City.
Nora became secretary to the Irish League of Credit Unions which was founded in 1960 (then called the Credit Union League of Ireland) and which operated from the main living room of her house in Dublin for many years. Nora was instrumental in the setting up of the League and she became its’ first Secretary. She is quoted as working 'morning, noon and night' at this unpaid position ‘following up every contact’. In 1960 the Civil Service Credit union was formed with Nora as a co-founder and member.
Also in 1960, because of her great work and leadership qualities, Nora became the first Irish person awarded a traineeship by CUNA (Credit Union National Association). To qualify for this award a person must have shown outstanding qualities of leadership in democratic adult associations. Three months training under CUNA in Madison in the USA, with visits as a guest of Credit Union Leagues in Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Toronto and New York, were of great value to her in her work, which she subsequently used in the service of people not only in Ireland, but to the thousands that wrote to her from all parts of the world including missionaries.
At its meeting in March 1963, the Board of the Credit Union League of Ireland unanimously voted Nora the person who had made the greatest individual contribution to the movement in Ireland to date.
Nora took a particular interest in legal affairs and was nominated by members of the Irish women's movement to a committee set up by the Irish government to review Irish co-operative legislation. Through this committee she played a large part in securing the 1966 Credit Union Act and stood by the President of Ireland as the Act was signed into law.
Fluent in Irish and Italian she also had a good knowledge of other languages and was capable of the translation from French of the quarterly review of the International Catholic Co-operative Centre.
She was well known in international co-operative circles though the position she held as Director of the International Co-operative Centre, Rome. She was also a member of the Dublin Guild of the Irish Country Women’s Association (ICA) and the Trees of Ireland Association.
Nora was a brilliant populariser of the credit union idea in the early days and thousands of her ‘Credit Union Questions Time’ were sold. On the passing of the 1966 Credit Union Act she was nominated by the Government as a member of the Supervisory Committee to monitor its workings.
Nora died on the 7th February 1988, the 28th anniversary of the founding of the Irish League of Credit Unions. She left a powerful legacy in a thriving credit union movement.
Nora's contribution to the movement is unquestionable, particularly at a time when women were not prominent in Irish society. Today there are 521 credit unions on the island of Ireland affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions, with 2.9m members nationwide.
Nora Herlihy, Founder