Ireland: Central Bank issues new commemorative €2 celebrating centenary anniversary of first Parliament

The Central Bank of Ireland unveiled (31st December) the design for their upcoming commemorative €2 coin issue, which, this year was issued in celebration of the establishment of the Irish Parliament (or Dial), which assembled for the first time on the 21st January 1919.

The Dáil Éireann (Assembly of Ireland) was the pre-independent, unicameral parliament of the Irish Republic that was established from 1919 to 1922, initially formed by 73 Sinn Féin Members of Parliament elected during the 1918 general election in the United Kingdom
— of which Ireland was still part of. They decided to refuse to recognise the British parliament at Westminster and chose instead to establish an independent legislature in Dublin. The convention of the First Dáil coincided with the beginning of the War of Independence. Only 27 of the Sinn Féin members were able to attend its first meeting at Dublin’s Mansion House. Most of the others were declared to have been “imprisoned.” The proceedings were carried out entirely in Gaelic, which commenced with a roll call.

The Irish Republic’s First Dáil was replaced by the Second Dáil in 1921, with both existing under the proclaimed Irish Republic. The status of the Third Dáil of 1922-1923 gained greater legitimacy as it was also recognised by the British. It was elected under the terms of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty as a provisional parliament to pave the way for the creation of an independent Irish state. With the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, a new parliament called the “Oireachtas” was established, of which the Dáil Éireann would evolve into the lower house.

The Oireachtas of the Irish Free State was disbanded with the implementation of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, which created the modern Oireachtas Éireann. This structure consists of the office of president, who serves as head of state, the Taoiseach (prime minister), who heads the government, the Dáil Éireann (lower house), Seanad (Senate), and Éireann (upper house). This system is the current structure of government in the Republic of Ireland.

The coin is designed by Emmet Mullins, and the national side includes the words Cheád Dáil, meaning “first Dáil.” The words are superimposed over a stylised image of the participants of that first Dáil meeting in the Mansion House. The Central Bank officially launched the coin on the 16th January. This issue is Ireland’s second commemorative dedicated €2 coin, and their first commemorative marked the centenary anniversary of the Easter Rising which occurred on the 24th April 1916, and is regarded as the start of the fight for Irish independence. The Central Bank is expected to release one million Uncirculated pieces into circulation, along with a collector’s Proof quality version that is also being offered. For additional information about this coin and others offered by the Central Bank of Ireland, please visit their dedicated collector coin website.

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