Currency artist favours blank notes for redraw

THE artist who designed the last wave of Irish bank notes before the euro was introduced said if he were to design a new currency for Ireland, the notes would be blank.

Eurosceptic Robert Ballagh believes the euro will collapse and he has his own ideas for what the country’s future currency should look like.

“Ireland would effectively become a provincial province of Europe with nosovereignty or identity so I would design it blank with one line of text in German stating: ‘The Irish province of the new German-led euro’,” said Mr Ballagh.

“Our sovereignty will be gone, everything will be gone. In political terms, the aspirations of the people who fought to create an independent Irish state will have effectively evaporated.”

Mr Ballagh, who fiercely opposed the introduction of the euro in 2002, said Ireland’s dependence on Europe over the past 10 years has stamped out the nation’s identity.

He said a future currency would not deserve the art and symbolism he gave to his past designs.

“I don’t think new notes would deserve any kind of artistry.

“Bank notes are supposed to symbolise a nation’s history and culture. How would you represent Ireland as it is now or where it’s going?”

He said Ireland should never have joined the euro in the first place.