Charlie is the first Donegal man to be elected President of the Union. He started his career in the Post Office in the early seventies when he followed in his father’s footsteps by joining An Post. Initially Charlie worked in Sherriff Street, Dublin for two years before transferring back to Letterkenny where he still works today. Charlie joined the Union in 1976 attending his first conference in Limerick and in 1996 he became a member of the National Executive Council.

Following his appointment to the role of President, a modest Charlie was keen to express that he is very conscious and thankful of the support he has received from the members through the years.

He said “while it is a great honour for me and my family, it has to be said that it is a great honour for the local branch. They are the people who have elected me since the early 1990s and they have put me where I am now.”

When asked about his concerns for An Post Charlie commented that he is concerned about the proposed liberalisation of the postal service because this will affect the universal service obligation which An Post has to deliver letters in rural areas. If things were to change then there will be huge implications for our members who operate in rural areas. In a county like Donegal alone where so much of the post is delivered to rural areas the proposed liberalisation will affect all postal workers and the Union will be strongly working to ensure that the right structures are put in place before the market is opened up to protect our workers.

Charlie also expressed concerns about Eircom that many members have regarding the proposed sell off of parts of the company. He said the company should have learned their lesson from history (like sale of Eircell and purchase of Meteor), before it was found that the mobile companies are in fact profitable. In the short term the company might make a quick profit but in the long term it is not a viable option and in the current climate it would be economic madness to sell off anymore parts.

Charlie is looking forward to a challenging time as President of the Union with postal liberalisation looming, the threat of structural separation in eircom on the horizon, his main concern will be to ensure the pay and conditions of all workers in the postal/courier, telecoms sectors are not eroded.

As President of the Union he will be ably supported by the newly elected Vice President of the Union - Gerry Cuirc.