Beethoven or birds — but no room on new euro notes for Irish cultural icons

European Central Bank is considering European cultural figures or rivers and birds on the front of its next series of euro banknotes

Next year, the ECB will ask the public which designs they prefer for the new series of euro banknotes based on a shortlist it is preparing. Picture: iStock

The European Central Bank (ECB) is considering using European cultural figures on the front of its next series of euro banknotes but 14 of the 20 countries that use the currency, including Ireland, will not be represented.

In an update on this long-running plan to update the euro banknotes, the ECB announced that it has selected motifs to illustrate the two possible themes for future euro banknotes.