Journal of Co-operative Studies, 35(2), 128-140

It is important for all co-operatives, including credit unions to continue to energise and re-energise their core values, particularly in the context of a rapidly changing environment. This article firstly identifies briefly the values inherent in co­ operatives such as credit unions and then explores how some of these operate in practice, drawing mainly on co-operative theory and on the author's experience as a practitioner within the Irish credit union movement. Some lessons are then drawn up that might be learned by credit unions in the UK and elsewhere from the successes and difficulties of the Irish credit union movement.