The bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland

The Bank of Ireland is the oldest bank in Ireland. It opened for business June 25. 1783 in Dublin.Until that point, banking had been handled by private institutions and individuals.

Being the Official Government Bank gave the Bank of Ireland an economic edge over its competitors and helped create an image of security. The economy was bad and the majority of people were poor. The small group that did have money, mainly landowners, was very protective of their money and skeptical of banks.

In 1784, the Bank of Ireland printed and issued its own paper currency in Irish pound and guinea denominations. The British government had decided to allow six Irish banks to issue their own currency under strict government regulations; the six included the Bank of Ireland, the National Bank, the Ulster Bank, the Northern Bank, the Provincial Bank of Ireland, and the Belfast Banking Company. The Bank of Ireland was the first to take advantage of this opportunity. Soon the other banks followed, and there were six different Irish banknotes as well as English currency being circulated in Ireland.

Their corporate agility and strength has earned them the nickname "the Celtic Tiger" and established them as leaders in the international banking industry and global economy.

The impression we got of the bank was, that it was a very big building. The architecture was very impressive and beatiful. But all in all it was quite what we expected to see, because of all the pictures we had seen before we took off.

Anders, JJ, Tine og Cecilie