Kilcullen branch to close in new BOI branch cull

Kilcullen customers of Bank of Ireland have learned today that the branch is to be closed by September in a just-announced cull of its branch network, writes Brian Byrne.

The Bank is closing 103 branches on the island of Ireland. This will cut its network in the Republic by about a third, and more than half of its Northern Ireland branches will close. The list was published a short time ago. Other County Kildare closures include Celbridge, Leixlip HP/Intel, and Monasterevin.

Chief Executive Francesca McDonagh said the trend towards digital banking has been evident for many years and was accelerated last year by Covid-19. She added that this had now reached a 'tipping point' in customer preference between online and offline banking.

Bank of Ireland has also negotiated an arrangement with An Post to provide its banking services at more than 900 locations across Ireland.

In 2017, a restructuring of local Bank of Ireland services resulted in significant reduction of counter transactions in Kilcullen, the bank becoming 'cashless'. This process had begun in 2015 when over the counter services in Kilcullen were curtailed to a 3-day week.

During the pandemic last year the branch closed completely for a period to protect staff. It has since reopened, but with further changes to hours of opening.

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