Bank of Ireland announces programme of activities to mark 240th anniversary

• Nationally important artwork offered to Houses of the Oireachtas for public display
• Review of the Bank’s extensive archive materials to be undertaken
• House of Lords to reopen to the public for the first time since the pandemic

Sunday 25 June will mark 240 years since Bank of Ireland first opened its doors to customers. To mark this historic anniversary, the Bank has announced a programme of activities to commemorate the important role the Bank plays for customers, colleagues, and Irish society. This includes:

• The Bank has offered a nationally important artwork – a statue of Daniel O’Connell by Andrew O’Connor (1932) – to the Houses of the Oireachtas for public display;
• The Bank will undertake a review of its archival materials which date back to its foundation in 1783. This review will consider the future use and access to this archival material, including if any materials could form the basis of a donation to the national collection. The archival materials to be assessed include lending agreements with the nascent Irish State dating from the 1920s, and correspondence from nationally important figures such as Daniel O’Connell, John Redmond, WT Cosgrave, and James Connolly;
• From July, the House of Lords at College Green, which has been closed to the public since the pandemic, will reopen to visitors for guided tours between 10am and 12 noon each Tuesday;
• In addition to a €36 million investment in the nationally important College Green complex of buildings, which will be completed before the Bank turns 250, Bank of Ireland College Green will also become the Registered Office for the Group later this year;
• A number of events for customers and colleagues will also be held in the College Green Banking Hall, one of the world’s oldest banking halls in continuous use. The Bank will also showcase important moments from its past, leveraging its archive, on its social media channels from now to the end of 2023.

Myles O’Grady, Bank of Ireland Group CEO, commented:

“Reaching 240 years is a huge milestone for Bank of Ireland. It offers an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve come from, but much more importantly to consider our future and our focus on customers, colleagues, shareholders and our role in society.

“From our earliest days in June 1783, we’ve grown to be an organisation that serves more than 4 million customers in Ireland and abroad, employs about 10,000 people, works hard for all our 80,000 shareholders, and has more than €40 billion in lending to the Irish economy.

“Our future lies in meeting fast-changing customer needs, being one of the best places to work, and making a positive contribution to society. All of this runs through our strategy, and is top of mind for me both as CEO of the Bank and its custodian for future generations.”

Note to Editors:

Archival material: The Bank of Ireland archival materials date to the foundation of the Bank in 1783 and include a range of documents and artefacts of note. These include:

• The Royal Charter which established the Bank of Ireland;
• The contract for the development of the Ulster Canal, in the name of William Dargan, Engineer, and the Ulster Canal Company. This goes into precise detail on how the canal should be built;
• A letter to Hibernian Bank – subsequently acquired by Bank of Ireland – demanding occupation of O’Connell St branch dated April 1916 and signed by James Connelly;
• Written correspondence from John Redmond MP in June 1916 relating to the bank account for the Home Rule Fund, with a response to grant a £10,000 overdraft;
• Internal documents which set out how the Bank might respond to and safeguard against issues arising due to political tensions in Ireland, including a note of a meeting of all the Irish banks held at the Bank of Ireland in August 1917 which states that “the present political condition of Ireland makes it possible that an organised rejection of British currency notes in payment of Irish Bank Notes … might take place”.
• Internal documents dating from 1921 examining how to provide banking services to a new Irish Free State and Government Departments, and listing the new Cabinet including Michael Collins as Minister for Finance;
• Internal documents from the 1930s which detail the ‘Rule for Election and Terms of Employment of Temporary Lady Clerks’ which set out that for a woman to be a temporary clerk she would need to be nominated by someone on the Board of Directors and, if successful, would have to pay the Bank £200 as security. The salary for the role was £250 a year.
• A range of documents from the 1930s and 1940s which detail preparation for war, and measures in place, during World War II.

About the College Green buildings: Bank of Ireland’s College Green buildings were originally built for the Irish parliament, the world’s first permanent two-chamber parliament. College Green was purchased by the bank in 1803 and its doors were opened to customers for the first time in 1808. Over the years the building has hosted renowned figures from across the world including Queen Victoria (1849), and US Presidents General Ulysses S Grant (1879), Bill Clinton (1995), and Barack Obama (2011).

Bank of Ireland has committed €36 million to the restoration of the complex, the single largest investment in the building since it was first constructed. The project will see windows, staircases, cabling, roofs and other elements of the buildings repaired and upgraded. There will also be a range of new facilities established for customers and colleagues.

From July, the House of Lords at College Green, which has been closed to the public since the pandemic, will reopen to visitors for guided tours between 10am and 12 noon each Tuesday. Visitors will be able to view the chamber and tapestries free of charge. As restoration and renovation activities take place in College Green from 2024 onwards, there may be periods where it is necessary to change these opening hours to accommodate these works.