Central Bank issues coin to mark 100 years since Irish women got vote
The Central Bank has launched a commemorative coin to mark 100 years since Irish women won the right to vote.
1918 was the first time Irish women were permitted to vote and stand in parliamentary elections.
Countess Markievicz was the first woman elected as an MP to the UK House of Commons - but never took her seat.
Instead, she became the first female TD in the Dáil and one of the first women in the world to hold a Cabinet post.
Struck in .925 sterling silver, the coin was designed by Michael Guilfoyle and is the first Irish commemorative coin to feature colour since the Special Olympics coin of 2003.
The figure of a suffragette stands in the foreground, holding a banner demanding the vote for Irish women.
Behind her in silhouette is a procession of women marching forward to represent the progress in equality from 1918 to the present day.
They walk along a road painted in the colours of the suffragette movement in Ireland.
The Central Bank said the design "celebrates the progression of equality for women in Ireland over the last century."
The €15 silver proof coin is on sale from tomorrow for €63. It has an issue limit of 3,000 and can be bought online.
