10 Pounds Royal Bank of Ireland

The Currency Commission was established by the Irish Free State in 1927 to oversee a unified consolidated note issue, replacing the chaotic patchwork of notes issued independently by the old Irish joint-stock banks. Rather than abolishing those banks' note-issuing rights outright, the Commission required each participating bank to issue notes through it — hence the hybrid arrangement visible in this note, which carries both the Commission's authority and the Royal Bank of Ireland's name and signature.

The Royal Bank was one of the smaller participants in the consolidated issue and was absorbed into the Allied Irish Banks group in 1966. De La Rue produced the series to a consistently high standard, and the watermark security was considered adequate for the period, though the Commission's consolidated notes were eventually superseded by Central Bank of Ireland issues from 1943 onward.

Joseph Brennan, whose signature appears as Chairman, had previously served as head of the Irish civil service finance division during the turbulent handover of administration from British to Free State control.