File:Central Bank Of Ireland - external structure.jpg

English: Many people believe that the Bank across the road from Trinity College is the Irish Central Bank but it is not. The central bank is actually located further up Dame Street and it is in Temple Bar.

The Central Bank of Ireland is the financial services regulator of Ireland and historically the central bank. The bank was the issuer of Irish pound banknotes and coinage until the introduction of the euro currency, and now provides this service for the European Central Bank.

The bank was founded in 1943 and since 1 January 1972 has been the banker of the Irish Government in accordance with the Central Bank Act 1971, which can be seen in legislative terms as completing the long transition from a currency board to a fully functional central bank.

The bank's head office is located on Dame Street, Dublin, where the public may exchange non-current Irish coinage and currency (both pre- and post-decimalization) for euro. This building attracted a lot of criticism, when built in 1980, both for its height and original roofline (in contravention of the planning permission) and for its brash appearance.

It is an unusual building for its time in regard to structure. The floors are all suspended from the twin service cores at 12 support points by the steel trusses visible on the facades. During construction each floor was built at ground level and then hoisted into place with all its service equipment and fittings in place.

Originally the old Commercial Buildings next door were at 90 degrees to their current position but the building was demolished during construction and a new facsimile built on the site to contain ancillary facilities.