A BANK note from the days of the Limerick Soviet has been uncovered during a review of archive material in one of Ireland’s oldest banks.
As part of its 240th anniversary celebrations, Bank of Ireland has been conducting a review of its archive materials, and found among them an uncirculated Limerick Soviet bank note dating from 1919.
After a protest against military actions, a state of martial law was imposed on Limerick, bringing the city and county under military rule, closing the routes to Limerick and cutting off the access of about 5,000 workers to their employment unless they had been issued a British military pass.
As a response to this, a strike was called by the Limerick Trades and Labour Council, a protest against the British Army’s declaration of a ‘special military area’ around Limerick.
Refusing to use British Military passes and instead printing their own, the Limerick Soviet also set up committees to organise the distribution of food, fuel, and the general running of the city.
The bank note that was found in the Bank of Ireland archives was for the value of one shilling and is dated April 1919.
In conducting the review of its archive, Bank of Ireland says it will consider what to do with the materials and how access should be allowed to it, including if any materials could be donated to the national collection.
