2019-01-17 Thu

The First Dail meeting at the Mansion House in Ireland was held on 21st January 1919. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of this historic event, the Central Bank of Ireland will be releasing 1 million €2 coins this year. The inauguration ceremony took place at the Mansion House on 16th January 2019, in the presence of several esteemed government officials and dignitaries. A special €100 gold coin will also be released to commemorate the same event. However, these coins have a limited mintage of 1000 pieces. The €2 coin will also be offered as a part of a yearly mint set and proof set.

Designed by Emmet Mullins, the reverse side of the coin features the text ‘An Chead Dail’ which translates to “The First Dail”. Images of the first TDs in attendance at the meeting are also featured on the coin.

Sinn Fein MPs had been elected to the House of Commons. However, they didn’t take their seats at Westminster and set up a new parliament in Dublin as they were abstentionists. The coin was issued to honour the first elected members of Dail Eireann and their contributions for laying down the foundations of Ireland’s national identity and modern outlook.

Ireland issued the country’s first commemorative coins in 2016 to commemorate 100 years of the 1916 Easter Rising. 4.5 million €2 coins and limited edition €100 gold coins were released. The gold coins were sold out within 24 hours. The latest release is the country’s second commemorative circulating coin.

Image Courtesy: Central Bank of Ireland