Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland: £5 Irish Pound Note
1976-1993 Series C Banknotes
The orange five pound note had a portrait of Johannes Scotus Eriugena, the philosopher and theologian, 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 reverse featured an adaptation of animal and script extracts from the Book of Kells, an eighth century copy of the gospels.
The dimension of the notes are 82.0 X 156.0 millimetres. In addition to the dominant orange, red and brown is used on both sides of the note.
Johannes Scotus Eriugena (815 – c. 877) was an Irish theologian, neoplatonist philosopher, and poet. He wrote a number of works, but is best known today, and had most influence in subsequent centuries, for having translated and made commentaries upon the work of Pseudo-Dionysius.
The Ricemarch Psalter is an 11th-century Welsh illuminated psalter, in a late Insular style, that has been described as "Hiberno-Danish", instead of the usual "Hiberno-Saxon", as it reflects Viking influence. Its 159 pages are vellum, and include the following sections: Letter of St. Jerome to Chromatius and Elidorus; Breviarius Apostolorum; Martyrologium Hieronymianum, and Various Tables. It is one of two surviving manuscripts from the scriptorium at Llanbadarn Fawr in Wales, established by the father of the scribe and the first owner. The other is a manuscript of St. Augustine's De Trinitate in Cambridge, by the same scribe. The psalter is now at Trinity College, Dublin as MS 50.
The Book of Durrow is a medieval illuminated manuscript gospel book in the Insular art style. It was probably created between 650 and 700. The place of creation may perhaps have been Durrow Abbey in Ireland or a monastery in Northumbria in northeastern England (where the monastery at Lindisfarne would be the likely candidate) or perhaps Iona Abbey in western Scotland -- the place of origin has been debated by historians for decades without a consensus emerging. The Book of Durrow was certainly at Durrow Abbey by 916. Today it is in the library at Trinity College, Dublin (MS A. 4. 5. (57)).
The Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created in a Columban monastery in either Britain or Ireland or may have had contributions from various Columban institutions from both Britain and Ireland. It is believed to have been created ca. 800 AD. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.
Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland: Series B Banknotes
The Series B Banknotes of Ireland replaced the Series A Banknotes. The banknotes were issued between 1976 and 1982 by the Central Bank of Ireland, the series was replaced in 1993 by Series C 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 theme chosen for these notes was history of Ireland, 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 female head painted by Sir John Lavery was retained from Series A; contained 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.
5 Irish Pound banknotes
Ireland Five Pounds Series C Banknote 1992-2001