They are not the first to lose a local bank outlet and they know they will not be the last. But the people of Cappoquin are angered by AIB's decision to close its sub-office there.
After at least 60 years of doing business in the west Waterford town, the bank gave 18 days' notice at the end of May that it was pulling out and moving customer accounts to its Lismore branch, five miles away.
A campaign to save the branch failed and its doors were closed on Friday for the last time. The AIB sign has already been removed from the building.
People in this thriving town of 900 fear that the Bank of Ireland, which is currently reviewing its branch operations throughout the State, will take a similar decision and leave them without any banking facility. The nearest ATM is also in Lismore.
The parish priest of Cappoquin, Father Robert Arthure, says the AIB move is seen as a vote of no confidence in the community. "It would seem to me to be indicative of the way a small rural town such as this tends to be neglected at the expense of places within 40 miles of Dublin. A new kind of Pale is being created," he said.
Local people point out that the closure is not just a matter of inconvenience, but will draw business away from the town. Mr Tom Feerick, a pharmacist in Cappoquin, says at least half the people using the bank were from outside the town. "If they have to go into Dungarvan now to cash a cheque, they're not going to come back to shop in Cappoquin."
AIB says the decision to close the branch was not taken lightly and followed "a careful and lengthy review" of the type of business conducted there.
"The bank continuously reviews the positioning of its branch network to tie in with developments in technology and banking trends and recognises the need to re-configure delivery channels in line with a changing market," it said in a statement.
But why the short notice? A spokeswoman says the bank engaged in a three-week "consultation process" with customers about the closure, and local staff worked with local people to minimise its impact. Branch officials had, for example, demonstrated various options which allowed wages and pensions to be paid direct to customer accounts and bill payments to be automatically debited.
However, while some business people say they received a phone call on May 29th, other customers say they received no notification at all. The church parish is a customer of the bank, but Father Arthure says he has still not been told anything directly by AIB.
"There are ways of doing things. It would not have made any difference to the decision, but they could have shown a certain courtesy to the customers," he said. In common with others, he stressed his criticism was not directed at local officials, who had an excellent relationship with customers.
"These decisions are made by faceless people up in Dublin. I would feel that financial institutions, just the same as other institutions, have a certain responsibility to the communities in which they do business.
"I know shareholders are very important, but surely companies have a responsibility to retain a regard for community structures and to help retain the life and vigour of a community? From a commercial point of view alone I would have thought that's not a bad idea."
Ms Orla Hayes of the Cappoquin Community Development Company, which organised the campaign to keep the branch open, says people do not understand why a bank should pull out when the town is doing so well.
"Cappoquin is a vibrant business town. It is alive and buzzing and hosts businesses such as Cappoquin Chickens, Cappoquin Pork and Bacon, Calmark Ireland Ltd, Denn's Agriculture and Somerby Ltd, in total employing approximately 400 people," she points out. In addition, the development company has completed six new enterprise units which have a 70 per cent occupancy rate.
"We cannot see where they are coming from," says the owner of Somerby Ltd, Mr Chris Clancy. "We cannot see how it's not profitable to be banking here. If you passed by the bank any time you would see a queue there." The sub-office was open five days a week.
He says it will be at least two or three years before people are ready to embrace electronic banking, seen by many as the future for the industry, and the bank should have spent a couple of years preparing its customers for new banking methods before pulling out.
The bank spokeswoman, however, said there was a general misconception that branches were being closed to make way for telephone and Internet banking. There were other ways of banking in the absence of a local branch.
The Community Development Company is now seeking a guarantee from Bank of Ireland that it will remain in the town for at least five years, in which case, Mr Clancy and others say, they will move their accounts to that bank. A Bank of Ireland spokeswoman, however, said the bank could not give a guarantee of that kind.
While AIB has gone, the Cappoquin campaign is not quite over. Mr Feerick said it was intended to lobby Government Ministers to prevent other local communities being treated in the way they had been.
