There’s been widespread shock and disappointment to the revelations that Bank of Ireland is shutting 88 branches here.
15 more are being closed in the North with the closures due to come into effect by the end of September.
Bank of Ireland says the closures are down to a rise in digital services.
Around 200 people work in these branches and the bank says staff will be relocated and will be no compulsory redundancies.
Bank of Ireland has started a new partnership with An Post post and says all the banks that are closing have a post office within 500 metres.
SIPTU has described the decision as a complete bolt out of the blue, while the Financial Services Union says the closures are shameful and an act of betrayal to loyal staff and customers.
Roscommon Fianna Fail Senator Eugene Murphy is accusing Bank of Ireland of arrogance, and of using the Covid crisis as a useful time to implement "swingeing" cuts.
He says rural Ireland will be hit hardest by the cuts, and many areas affected don't have the necessary broadband infrastructure to bank online.
