Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland

The Irish Free State, subsequently known as Ireland, resolved in the mid-1920s to design its own coins and banknotes; at the time of the currency's first issue, the Free State government decided to peg its value to the pound sterling. The Currency Act, 1927 was passed as a basis for the creation of banknotes and the creation of the "Saorstát pound" (later the "Irish pound") as the "standard unit of value" and the legal tender notes issued under this act commenced circulation on 10 September 1928.

When the Irish Free State came into existence in 1922, three categories of banknote were in circulation. These consisted of notes issued by the Bank of England, the British Treasury and six Irish banks then in existence who were chartered to issue notes. Only British Treasury notes had legal tender status within the state. The issuing of banknotes by multiple private institutions was an everyday aspect of banking in Great Britain and Ireland at the time and indeed remains so in Northern Ireland and Scotland today.

A banking commission was created in 1926, the Commission of Inquiry into Banking and the Issue of Notes, to determine what changes were necessary in relation to banking and banknote issue in the new state. The commission was chaired by Professor Henry Parker Willis of Columbia University who was Director of Research of the Federal Reserve Board in the United States. The commission was given a terms of reference:

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