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5 Pounds Sterling 1956, Kingdom of Great Britain

in Banknotes Book Number: NI.714а
Years of issue: 05.06.1956
Edition:
Signatures: N.J.Shaw
Serie: Northern Ireland
Specimen of: 05.10.1954
Material: Cotton fiber
Size (mm): 166 х 93
Printer: Waterlow and Sons Limited, London

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5 Pounds Sterling 1956

Description

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Avers:

5 Pounds Sterling 1956

Centered, presumably, is Hibernia Hibernia, as a national personification, representing Ireland. But, till now, I did not found the image of Hibernia, similar to the image on banknote!

She appeared in numerous cartoon and drawings, especially in the nineteenth century.

As depicted in frequent cartoons in Punch, a magazine outspokenly hostile to Irish nationalism, Hibernia was shown as "Britannia's younger sister". She is an attractive, vulnerable girl. She is threatened by manifestations of Irish nationalism such as the Fenians or the Irish National Land League, often depicted as brutish, ape-like monsters. Unable to defend herself, Hibernia is depicted turning to the strong, armoured Britannia for defence. John Tenniel, now mainly remembered as the illustrator of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, produced a number of such depictions of Hibernia.

At times nationalist publications (such as the Land League and Parnell's United Ireland newspaper) did use the image of Hibernia. However, possibly because of the pro-union publications' adoption of the "helpless" image of Hibernia, nationalist publications would later use Erin and Kathleen Ni Houlihan, as personifications of Irish nationhood. Although Irish Nationalists did continue to use the terms "Hibernia" and "Hibernian" in other contexts, such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians. A statue, derived from an original by Edward Smyth and depicting a more confident Hibernia (with harp and spear), stands in the central position of three atop the General Post Office in Dublin.

Revers:

5 Pounds Sterling 1956

Provincial Bank of Ireland building

Provincial Bank of Ireland Limited (established in 1825 ) building, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Provincial Bank of Ireland designed by W. J. Barre.

2, Royal Avenue (Castle Place) Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1867-1869.

Text and photograph by Philip V. Allingham, 2006.

This building at No. 2, Royal Avenue (Castle Place), now Tesco's, was constructed by Turner and Williamson on the site of the home of Belfast's wealthiest citizen of the late eighheenth century, Waddell Cunningham, who founded the reforming Irish Volunteers, which mustered an honour guard for the opening of St. Mary's Church Crooked Lane, the first Catholic institution built in the area since the Reformation. Next on the site was the Catholic Belfast Institute and associated with it nearby St. Mary's Hall (1875); when the Catholic Institute was demolished, it was replaced by the present building, W. J. Barre's Provincial Bank of Ireland (See F. Heatley, p. 62)

References:

Heatley, Fred, and Gillian Boyd (il.). Belfast: Paintings and Stories from the City. Donaghadee, N. Ireland: Cottage Publications, 1998. (www.victorianweb.org)

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