The Central Bank has announced the launch of two new coins to commemorate rock band U2 and the late author Maeve Binchy.
The bank said U2 “have inspired generations around the world for decades.”
They will be honoured with an official 2 euro coin in BU (’brilliant uncirculated’) and ‘proof’ quality.
The coin will mark 50 years since Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, then only teenagers, met in Mullen’s kitchen for the band’s first rehearsal on September 25, 1976.
Initially the group called themselves ‘Feedback’ before switching to U2.
The band would go on to win 22 Grammy Awards.
They remain the only group to win the album of the year category twice at the awards, in 1998 for their album The Joshua Tree and again in 2006 for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The coin will be available to the public on September 25.
The bank said a €15 Silver Proof coin will celebrate the life and legacy of beloved author Maeve Binchy, “whose warm, unforgettable stories continue to captivate readers across the globe.”
Binchy, who trained as a teacher before moving into journalism and writing, sold more than 40 million books in her lifetime and saw her work translated in 37 languages.
She died in 2012, aged 72.
Binchy’s coin is due to launch on October 2, and the designs of the two coins have yet to be unveiled.
Typically, four or five new coins are launched by the Central Bank each year to commemorate national figures and significant historical events.
Past releases have included a €15 silver proof coin, marking the 80th anniversary of Luke Kelly’s birth, a €15 coin commemorating Saint Brigid, and a coin marking 100 years since the establishment of the Defence Forces.
Both coins will be available to purchase at www.collectorcoins.ie.