The Series A banknotes () were the first

banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...

created by and for the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

in 1928Central Bank of Ireland
Series A (1928 - 1975 / 77) “The Lady Lavery Series”
/ref> and continued to be issued when the Free State became the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. They are considered to "count amongst the most iconic and beautiful of all modern banknotes."Spink Special Features
The Story of Hazel, Lady Lavery: The woman behind the banknote classic
/ref> The series is known as "The Lady Lavery Series", from the prominent portrait on the front of the notes. The notes were issued from 1928 to 1977 until they were gradually replaced by

Series B banknotes The Series B banknotes () of Ireland replaced the Series A banknotes. The banknotes were issued between 1976 and 1992 by the Central Bank of Ireland, before being replaced in 1993 by Series C banknotes.Central Bank of IrelandSeries B (1976/82 ...

beginning in 1976.Central Bank of Ireland
Series B (1976/82 - 1989/ 93)
/ref> However, as no £100 note was issued in Series B, the Series A £100 note remained in use until replaced by the

Series C A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the p ...

note in 1996.Central Bank of Ireland
Series C (1992/96 – 2000)
/ref>

Banknotes

The

Currency Commission The Currency Commission (''Coimisiún an Airgid Reatha''), was created by thas part of the policy of the Irish Free State to create the ' Saorstát pound'. The Currency Commission commissioned the Series A Banknotes, through the advice of an advis ...

of the Irish Free State prescribed the design of the notes and received advice from an advisory commission.

Waterlow and Sons Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, stocks and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 b ...

, Limited,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

printed the notes on behalf of the commission. The series consists of notes in seven denominations: 10s, £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100.

Portrait of Lady Lavery as Kathleen Ni Houlihan

Each note has a portrait of Lady Lavery – wife of the artist Sir John Lavery, who was commissioned to design this feature. The original oil on canvas painting of Lady Lavery, titled ''Portrait of Lady Lavery as Kathleen Ni Houlihan'' (1927), is displayed at the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

on loan from the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...

. Portrait of Lady Lavery at the National Gallery of Ireland
/ref> From the description of Lady Lavery's portrait at the National Gallery: The banknote design placed the portrait on the left of the banknotes, so the image from the painting was reversed to face right. The full portrait appears on the larger £10, £20, £50 and £100 notes but is reduced to a head and shoulders version on the smaller 10s, £1 and £5 notes. The head from the portrait was later used as a watermark on the

Series B A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...

and Series C banknotes until 2002. The watermark on all Series A banknotes is the "Head of

Erin Erin is a personal name taken from the Hiberno-English word for Ireland, originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in preposi ...

" taken from the statue, ''

Hibernia () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). In his book ''Geogr ...

with the Bust of Lord Cloncurry'' (1844), sculpted in Rome by John Hogan and brought to Ireland in 1846.UCD Digital Library
Hibernia with the bust of Lord Cloncurry
/ref> The statue depicts Ireland, represented by the allegorical female figure of Hibernia, also known as “Erin”, with her arm around a bust of Lord Cloncurry. Hogan modeled the female figure after his Italian wife, Cornelia Bevignani. This statue is considered by some authorities to be Hogan’s masterpiece. and "one of the finest examples of Irish neoclassical sculpture". The statue is in the collection of

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and is located at Belfield House. The reverse of each denomination features the head of a "River God" representing one of the

rivers of Ireland Shown here are all the major rivers and tributaries of Ireland with their lengths (in kilometres and miles). Starting with the Northern Ireland rivers, and going in a clockwise direction, the rivers (and tributaries) are listed in regard to their ...

taken from a keystone on the Custom House in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

sculpted by Edward Smyth.Heads of the River Gods from the Custom House are identified in Healy's identifications are taken from . Rivers in both the

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

were chosen. The Currency Commission notes were printed with ''Currency Commission/Coimisiún Airgid Reatha'' and ''Irish Free State/Saorstát Éireann'' with facsimiles of the signatures of the ''Chairman of the Currency Commission/Cathaoirleach Choimisiúin an Airgid Reatha'' and of the ''Secretary of the Department of Finance/Rúnaí na Roinne Airgid''. When the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

had legal effect ''Ireland'' was substituted for Irish Free State, ''Éire'' for Saorstát Éireann. In 1943 additional changes were made when the Central Bank Act of 1942Irish Statute Book
Central Bank Act, 1942
/ref> gave legal effect. The Currency Commission was replaced with ''

/Banc Ceannais na hÉireann'' on the notes and the signature of the chairman was replaced with that of ''Governor/An Ghobharnóir''. Banknotes produced during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

were overprinted with different letters so that particular batches could be identified and removed from circulation if they were lost in transit between the printers in Britain and Dublin. The promise of exchange in London was removed from the notes in 1961. A metal security thread was added to the £1, £5 and £10 notes in 1971. † No £100 note was issued in

. The Series A £100 note remained in use until the

£100 note was issued in 1996.

Footnotes

External links

Central Bank of Ireland – Notes & Coins Series A Spink Special Features: The Story of Hazel, Lady Lavery: The woman behind the banknote classic
{{Irish currency and coinage Currencies of the Republic of Ireland Ireland A

Banknotes

See also

Footnotes

External links