By Helen Riddell
FINANCIAL services provider FDC Group has opened a new office in Castletownbere.
FDC was established as the Farm Development Co-Op in 1973 in Dunmanway by Jack Murphy, to provide financial services to rural Ireland.
The group now employs over 430 people across 39 locations nationwide, with 14 offices in Cork alone. It provides a wide range of financial services including accounting, tax planning, financial advice, auditing, and agricultural consultancy and agricultural lending.
Seamus O’Mahony, a certified financial planner who has been with the firm for over 23 years, said an office in Castletownbere has always been part of the group’s long-term plans.
‘Our founder Jack Murphy had always wanted us to have a presence in Castletownbere, especially with us being a co-operative, and the important role the Castletownbere Fishermen’s Co-Op provides to the town, FDC is very much about providing local support to the hinterlands of Ireland.’
Seamus outlined how, when Jack Murphy founded the business in West Cork, it was originally aimed at supporting the farming community. ‘The business has evolved and grown over the years and we now provide financial advice to people involved in a wide range of occupations.’ Seamus said that the group prides itself on building lasting relationships with clients. ‘We are also very much an inter-generational firm, and have families who have been with us since the start, and we’re now supporting the second and third generations of the same families.’
FDC also runs a graduate training programme with a scholarship programme available through UCC.
The group’s charity committee supports a number of charities including Marymount Hospice, Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Concern and the Simon Community.
FDC’s new office is at The Square, Castletownbere and is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm
