The Series B banknotes ( ga, Nótaí bainc sraith B) of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

replaced the Series A banknotes. The banknotes were issued between 1976 and 1992 by the

Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland ( ga, Banc Ceannais na hÉireann) is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms ...

, the series was replaced in 1993 by Series C banknotes.Central Bank of Ireland
Series B (1976/82 - 1989/ 93)
/ref>

Banknotes

The Central Bank announced its intention for the new banknotes in December 1971 and Servicon, an Irish design company, was employed to design the notes of the denominations; £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100. The £100 note was never issued or circulated; this remains somewhat of an idiosyncrasy in the issue of Irish banknotes as this is the only series without a note of this denomination. The series was Legal Tender from 1976–1995, although not printed after May 1993. The theme chosen for these notes was

history of Ireland The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaterna ...

, and each note featured the portrait of a person with this theme in mind from a particular era from historic to modern and complementing visual elements. The portrait of

Lady Lavery Hazel Lavery, Lady Lavery (née Martyn; 1880–1935) was a painter and the second wife of portrait artist Sir John Lavery. Her likeness appeared on banknotes of Ireland for much of the 20th century.Sinead McCoole, ''Hazel: A Life of Lady Laver ...

painted by

Sir John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast an ...

was retained from

Series A A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exc ...

; contained as a watermark in the unprinted space. Each banknote has the signature of the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland and the Secretary of the Department of Finance. During much of the period of circulation of this series, foreign exchange controls prohibited the export of any notes larger than £20 from the Republic.

One Pound

The one pound note has a portrait of

Medb Medb (), later spelled Meadhbh (), Méibh () and Méabh (), and often anglicised as Maeve ( ), is queen of Connacht in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Her husband in the core stories of the cycle is Ailill mac Máta, although she had sev ...

, the legendary Queen of Connacht in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later Early Irish ...

. Also a pre-Christian geometric design based on those found on bone slips is used in on the note, the background is an excerpt from the Táin. The reverse is a decorated excerpt from Lebor na hUidre, the oldest surviving

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...

. The one pound note was removed from circulation from June 1990 as it was replaced by the Irish pound coin. It was the final one pound note to be circulated and the first note of Series B to be removed from circulation.

Five Pounds

The five pound note has a portrait of

Johannes Scotus Eriugena John Scotus Eriugena, also known as Johannes Scotus Erigena, John the Scot, or John the Irish-born ( – c. 877) was an Irish Neoplatonist philosopher, theologian and poet of the Early Middle Ages. Bertrand Russell dubbed him "the mos ...

, the

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, of the ninth century. The letter A from the start of Psalm 17 of the Psalter of Ricemarcus is used against the

Book of Durrow The Book of Durrow is an illuminated manuscript dated to c. 700 that consists of text from the four Gospels gospel books, written in an Irish adaption of Vulgate Latin, and illustrated in the Insular script style.Moss (2014), p. 229 Its origi ...

. The reverse features an adaptation of animal and script extracts from the

Book of Kells The Book of Kells ( la, Codex Cenannensis; ga, Leabhar Cheanannais; Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. 8 sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the ...

, an eighth century copy of the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

Ten Pounds

The ten pound has a portrait of Dean

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Du ...

the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

and

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

. The background contains a reproduction of the coat of arms of Dublin from a city council resolution against a letter by Swift from April 1735. The reverse has a portion of a map of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

which was published by John Rocque in 1756. Great Abbey Street and Astons Quay - now known as Middle Abbey Street and Aston Quay respectively are shown as well as the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

Twenty Pounds

The twenty pound note has a portrait of

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, the

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

tist, and mystic together with a representation of the mythological hero

Cú Chulainn Cú Chulainn ( ), called the Hound of Ulster ( Irish: ''Cú Uladh''), is a warrior hero and demigod in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore. He is believed to be an incarnation of the Irish god Lugh ...

, based on the motif used by the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

. The background is of a Deirdre, a Yeats manuscript. The reverse is an image of the

Blasket Islands The Blasket Islands ( ga, Na Blascaodaí) are an uninhabited group of islands off the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The last island to hold a significant population, Great Blasket Island, was abandoned in 1954 due ...

, off

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

with the background of '' An tOileánach'' by Tomás Ó Criomhthain.

Fifty Pounds

The fifty pound note has a portrait of

Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...

, the blind Irish

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

er and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, with the background from Timbrell. The reverse has a design based on the wood carvings on the organ loft of

St. Michan's Church St. Michan's Church is a Church of Ireland church located in Church Street, Dublin, Ireland. The first Christian chapel on this site dated from 1095, and operated as a Catholic church until the Reformation. The current church dates from 168 ...

, Dublin.

One Hundred Pounds

A Series B hundred pound note was never issued, the Series A £100 note remained in circulation. A design mock up was submitted for the £100 denomination in August 1979. After some years of development, a decision was made to not proceed with production of the note, primarily because it was decided that the denomination was not required. The development of the note proceeded through several proof stages before being cancelled in early 1987. During the late 1970s some newspapers reported that a planned £100 note would be mauve and would have

Grace O'Malley Grace O'Malley ( – c. 1603), also known as Gráinne O'Malley ( ga, Gráinne Ní Mháille, ), was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. In Irish folklore she is commonly ...

on the front, and the

Galtee Mountains Galtymore or Galteemore () is a mountain in the province of Munster, Ireland. At , it is one of Ireland's highest mountains, being the 12th-highest on the Arderin list, and 14th-highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Galtymore has the 4th-highe ...

, or a map of Ireland on the reverse, and the dimensions of the notes in size would be 188 x 98 mm. Detailed information about the design of the note became available with the opening of Central Bank of Ireland Archives to the public in 2017. The face of the banknote design features a portrait of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen, with one of her ships looming large in the centre and a second ship in the distance. The predominant colours are red for the portrait and mauve for the ship and background elements. The reverse of the banknote design is predominantly beige. It features a genealogical map of Ireland, based on the 1567 map of "Hibernia: Insula non procul ab Anglia vulgare Hirlandia vocata" by John Goghe.Central Bank of Ireland Archives, Dublin. Accessed 24 May 2018.

References

Series B (1976/82 - 1989/93) Irish Writers, Philosophers and Artists banknotes
{{Irish currency and coinage Ireland B Currencies of the Republic of Ireland