NEW CENTRAL BANK - JANUARY 2018 PHOTOGRAPHED BY WILLIAM MURPHY

THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND [NEW HEADQUARTER BUILDING ON NORTH WALL QUAY]

The Central Bank of Ireland is Ireland's central bank, and as such part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It is also the country's financial services regulator for most categories of financial firms. It was the issuer of Irish pound banknotes and coinage until the introduction of the euro currency, and now provides this service for the European Central Bank.

The Central Bank was founded on 1 February 1943 and since 1 January 1972 has been the banker of the Government of Ireland in accordance with the Central Bank Act 1971,which can be seen in legislative terms as completing the long transition from a currency board to a fully functional central bank.

Its head office was located on Dame Street, Dublin from 1979 until 2017. Its offices at Iveagh Court and College Green also closed down at the same time.

Since March 2017, its headquarters are located on North Wall Quay, where the public may exchange non-current Irish coinage and currency (both pre- and post-decimalization) for euros, as well as High Value Euro Currency Bank Notes and Mutilated Currency. It also operates from premises at nearby Spencer Dock. The Currency Centre at Sandyford is the currency manufacture, warehouse and distribution site of the bank.