Historical Sketch

Since the early Middle Ages, Ireland had been subdivided into several independent kingdoms, nominally subject to the High King. The Norman conquest after 1169 put an end to the system, and only in 1542, the Kingdom of Ireland was nominally restored and ruled by the English king in personal union. The 1801 Act of Unions merged Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain, creating the United Kingdom. The Irish war of independence started with the Easter Rising of 1916 and led to the partition into the Irish Free State in the south and the British Northern Ireland province in 1921. The Free State with the British monarch as head of state was abolished by referendum in December 1937, and the Republic of Ireland was created in mid-1949.

Monetary History Overview

The Anglo-Norman conquest had brought the Sterling accounting to Ireland. During the centuries, the Irish currency had depreciated so that eventually 13 Pence Irish went to the Shilling Sterling. The production of local Irish subsidiary coins began in the mid-17th century and continued until 1826. The 1801 Act of Unions triggered also the monetary integration. Paper money issuance by commercial banks had begun in Ireland in 1783. The Irish banks kept their privilege after the unification as the monopoly of the Bank of England was not extended beyond England and Wales. After 1844, however, no new privilege could be attributed. In the Republic of Ireland, private paper money was outmoded in 1953, while in Northern Ireland, four commercial banks hold a license until today.

The Irish Free State passed a currency act in 1927 creating the Irish Pound as national currency. It was at par with the Pound Sterling, and British coins remained legal tender. The Currency Commission began operation as oversight instance in 1928. Irish paper money was issued by both the government and the commercial banks which had kept their license since the 1844 act, plus two additional ones which had obtained their license from the Commission. The private paper money, so-called "consolidated notes", was not legal tender but readily accepted. In 1943, the Central Bank of Ireland began operations and took over monetary authority. The private money issuance was abolished, and the "consolidated notes" of the commercial banks were withdrawn until end 1953. The Irish Pound was decimalized in 1971, at the same time as in Great Britain, such that 100 New Pence went to the Pound instead of 240, a counting that dated back to ancient times. In 1979 finally, the link to the Sterling was severed, and Ireland gradually adhered to the European currency system. It is a founding member of the European Monetary Union and has introduced the European Euro in 1999. The Irish banknotes and coins were withdrawn in 2002.

Ireland joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 08.08.1957.

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