GAA Corner

Cowardly proposals to re-vamp the All-Ireland Championships

Having read the three proposals on the table, i.e.

GAA Director General Paraic Duffy’s mini-National League

Colm Parkinson’s idea that lower tier teams should be cast aside in a separate competition

Conan Doherty’s proposal for ‘half a Champions League’ format

All three formats ignore the fact that lower tier teams can ONLY improve if they play top tier teams. All three formats deny lower tier…

This weekend saw the semi-finals of the provincial championships in Gaelic Football played in front of mediocre attendances with one group of happy sponsors and another group of sponsors that were probably not as happy as they had hoped.

Many of the games were predictably one-sided affairs, with predictable scorelines

Westmeath    3-19      Meath           2-18

Dublin            5-18      Kildare…

This is the season within seasons …

its the championship season for both hurling and football

every village in Ireland has its bunting up in support of their team

everyone is talking about “their chances this year”

but half of the counties are already bemoaning their early exits

its already the height of the tourism season

and every village is freshly painted, with fresh flower beds and signs

ev…

Coin Guide: Irish Commemorative Euro Coins

Most of the coins listed below were struck as ‘proofs’ – the exception being the first of the series, the €5 Special Olympics coin.  This was a cupro-nickel coin and is available as BU mini-presentation folder.  In addition to this, all other coins were struck in either Sterling silver or gold and are issued in special presentation boxes with certificates of authenticity from the Central Bank of…

The Irish 50 cent euro coin (€0.50) has a value of one half of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold.

Value 0.50 euro Mass 7.80 g Diameter 24.25 mm Thickness 2.38 mm Edge Regular, fine indentations Composition Nordic gold

Nordic gold is the gold-coloured copper alloy from which the middle three denominations of euro coins, 50 cent, 20 cent, and 10 cent coins are…

The 20 cent euro coin (€0.20) has a value of one fifth of a euro and are composed of an alloy called nordic gold in the Spanish flower shape.

a type of coin flan shape, consisting of a smooth edge separated into equal sections by seven indents

the ECB explained that the the Spanish flower shape was chosen to help the visually-impaired

Value 0.20 euro Mass 5.74 g Diameter 22.25 mm Thickness…

The 10 cent euro coin (€0.10) has a value of one tenth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold.

Value 0.10 euro Mass 4.10 g Diameter 19.75 mm Thickness 1.93 mm Edge Regular, fine indentations Composition Nordic gold

Nordic gold is the gold-coloured copper alloy from which the middle three denominations of euro coins, 50 cent, 20 cent, and 10 cent coins are made.

T…

The 5 cent euro coin (€0.05) has a value of one twentieth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher value coins.

2003 Ireland 5c coin

Value 0.05 euro Mass 3.92 g Diameter 21.25 mm Thickness 1.67 mm Edge Smooth Composition Copper-covered steel Years of minting 2002–present

Th…

The 2 cent euro coin (€0.02) has a value of one-hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coins of every Euro country have a common reverse and each has a country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher value coins.

2002 Ireland – two cent coin

Value 0.02 euro Mass 3.06 g Diameter 18.75 mm…

The 1 cent euro coin (€0.01) has a value of one-hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. The coins of every Euro country have a common reverse and each has a country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher value coins.

2002 Ireland – one euro cent coin

Value 0.01 euro Mass 2.30 g Diameter…

Rules regarding the issue of €2 commemorative coins

Thus far, the Central Bank of Ireland has resisted the urge to ‘optionally’ issue commemorative €2 coins as per their statutory allowance.  This is not true of many of our continental cousins in the Euro Zone who, it seems, have taken up their options with increasing zeal since the first ‘commemorative’ €2 coin in 2004.

Only 6 Euro Zone states…

The Central Bank of Ireland acts as agent for the Minister for Finance in issuing all Irish coin, both circulating and commemorative and has been actively involved in the issuance of Irish collector coin products to mark specific events in Irish history of significant national importance or celebrate national treasures.

They usually issue just one Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) set per year but, on…

In 1971, Ireland decimalised its currency in parallel with the UK.  We did this because we were tied to the UK Pound at that time and one of the more unusual mathematical aspects of decimalisation was that both countries set the conversion rate for the new penny at 2 or 3 old pennies.

One new (decimal) pound was worth 240 old pennies but, if one had the patience, and handed them in two at a time,…

In 1971, Ireland decimalised its currency in parallel with the UK.  We did this because we were tied to the UK Pound at that time and one of the more unusual aspects of decimalisation was that both countries adopted a percentage of the basic unit, i.e. a decimal halfpenny (something of an oxymoron).

Ireland decimal halfpenny 1971-1985 – designed by Gabriel Hayes (1909–1978) – an Irish artist born…

It may come as a bit of a surprise to many that although Celtic coins have not (yet) been discovered in Ireland, there have been a lot of Roman and Anglo-Saxon coins found – especially the latter.  Conservative Irish historians have always said the Romans never got here but they rarely even mention the Anglo-Saxons in the Early Medieval context.  We also see modern cartoons and paintings of…

Long before the introduction of struck coinage into ancient Celtic Europe, copper and gold rings were used as currency by Celtic tribes and were often worn on clothing or tied together by ropes.

These particular rings, often referred to as “proto-currency”, were created in  ancient Moesia (now Bulgaria) as long ago as 7th century BC.  The sizes range from 10mm-40mm

_______________________________…

In order to understand the ‘situation’ of the Irish Celts and, therefore, theorize as to “why they did not produce coins like their English cousins”, we first need to understand the situation of the English Celtic tribes.

By the 2nd century BC (the Late Iron Age in Britain) the locals were trading iron “currency bars” shaped like swords, spits, ploughshares and bay leaves.  Celtic coins starting…