2019-05-16 Thu

Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth.

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Despite the two jurisdictions using two distinct currencies (the euro and pound sterling), a growing amount of commercial activity is carried out on an all-Ireland basis.

The Irish pound was the currency of Ireland until 2002 when it was replaced by the euro. The note depicted alongside is a 5 Irish pound banknote issued from 1994 to 1999. The obverse has the portrait of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy to right; Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Dublin which was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in center and left. The reverse has a school scene with children in a classroom; the first verse of the Irish poem "Mise Raifteri an File" by Antoine O Raifteiri written on the classroom blackboard in Gaelic script; a Map of Europe at the back. This yellow-brown note has the portrait of Lady Hazel Lavery as watermark.

Image Courtesy: leftovercurrency.com