A tribute to Kathleen Halpin

Kathleen Halpin

Volunteer, Director and Board President · 1975 – 2026

It is with great sadness that the Board, staff and members of Clonmel Credit Union have learned of the death of Kathleen Halpin, who passed away peacefully on Saturday, in her 92nd year.

Kathleen first stepped behind a credit union counter as a teller in Waterford in 1975. After marrying Seamus and settling in Clonmel, she gave fifty unbroken years of voluntary service to this credit union — on committees, on the Board of Directors, and as President of the Board on two occasions, in 1985–1986 and again in 2003–2005.

Her fingerprints are on much of what members value most about Clonmel Credit Union. She was the driving force behind the Member Draw, which began life as a car draw and has since returned more than €7 million to members. She kept the Art Competition, the Annual Quiz and the Talent Competition alive for decades, bringing hundreds of local schoolchildren through our doors every year and giving generations of families their first experience of the credit union.

In September 2025 a Mayoral Reception was held in Clonmel Town Hall to mark her 50 years of volunteering, and she was more recently a guest of honour of the Irish League of Credit Unions at its annual conference in the RDS, where a special presentation was made in recognition of her extraordinary service to the movement.

Kathleen retired from our Board of Directors in December 2025, but retirement was never going to mean stepping back. She continued to serve on our Community Development Committee and to represent Clonmel Credit Union at the Irish League of Credit Unions — still working to the last, on behalf of the community she loved.

Kathleen was the very embodiment of the credit union ethos. For fifty years she gave her time, her judgement and her warmth to this credit union without ever once seeking anything in return. She understood that a credit union is not a building or a balance sheet, it is people looking after one another, and she taught that lesson to everyone who served alongside her. We have lost a dear friend and a wise counsel, and our community has lost one of its finest.

EAMONN O’MARA, CHAIRPERSON, CLONMEL CREDIT UNION

Our deepest sympathies are with Kathleen’s family, her wide circle of friends, and her many colleagues across the credit union movement in Ireland.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Reposing at Condon's Funeral Parlour, Clonmel on Monday evening from 5.00pm to 7.00pm. Removal on Tuesday to St Mary’s Church, Irishtown. Funeral Mass on arrival at 12.00pm. Those who cannot attend can watch live via the St Mary’s Parish Church livestream service https://www.churchservices.tv/clonmel. Burial will take place afterwards in Ballygunner Cemetery, Waterford. Family flowers only please.

BOOK OF CONDOLENCES

A Book of Condolence will be available at the Clonmel Credit Union Office from Tuesday July 28th.

OFFICE CLOSURE

As a mark of respect, and to allow colleagues to attend the funeral, Clonmel Credit Union will be closed from 11am on Tuesday, 28th July, reopening at approximately 2.30pm.

Our phone lines will remain available during this time.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis. Issued on behalf of the Board of Directors, management, staff and members of Clonmel Credit Union