5 Pounds Northern Bank

The Currency Commission was established by the Irish Free State in 1927 to manage a consolidated currency system in which the commercial banks — including Northern Bank — retained the right to issue their own notes, but only under strict Commission oversight and backed by sterling assets held in London. This arrangement made the Irish pound a de facto sterling equivalent, and these notes circulated alongside British currency without meaningful distinction in daily trade.

The Knox-to-Stewart signature transition reflects the death of Joseph Brennan's co-signatory mid-series — not a change in policy, simply an administrative succession within the Commission's secretariat.