In 1999 the Euro was made the official currency of Ireland – but it only existed as ‘book money‘ for 3 years. After a transition period, Euro banknotes and coins were introduced in Ireland on 1 January 2002.
With Ireland’s closest trading neighbour being the UK , the exchange rate between the Euro and Sterling is important to consumers and businesses in Ireland.
When the Euro was launched in 1999 – €1 Euro was worth £0.70 GBP.
(£1 British pound was worth €1.41 Euro. )
The lowest value ever of the Euro against the Pound was in October 2000 when €1 Euro hit a low of just £0.58.
The highest value of the Euro Vs Sterling was £0.95 in late December 2008.
More recently the Euro hit its second-highest value ever against Sterling when it got close to £0.94 GBP in August 2019 in the middle of Brexit uncertainties.
You can see the latest news on the current Euro to Sterling exchange rate here.
If you are trying to find the best way to exchange large amounts of Euro to Sterling or Sterling to Euro (or any other currency) – take a look at our page about Money Transfers
Here is a potted history of the Euro Sterling Exchange Rates since 2010
- 2010
- Average exchange rate in 2010: 0.8583 GBP
- Best exchange rate: 0.9104 GBP on 10 Mar 2010.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8106 GBP on 29 Jun 2010.
- 2011
- Best exchange rate: 0.905 GBP on 03 Jul 2011.
- Average exchange rate in 2011: 0.8678 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8297 GBP on 09 Jan 2011.
- 2012
- Best exchange rate: 0.8495 GBP on 23 Feb 2012.
- Average exchange rate in 2012: 0.8113 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.7765 GBP on 22 Jul 2012.
- 2013
- Best exchange rate: 0.8757 GBP on 31 Jul 2013
- Average exchange rate in 2013: 0.8492 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8101 GBP on 03 Jan 2013.
- 2014
- Best exchange rate: 0.8393 GBP on 18 Mar 2014
- Average exchange rate in 2014: 0.8061 GBP
- Worst exchange rate: 0.7768 GBP on 31 Dec 2014.
- 2015
- Best exchange rate: 0.7845 GBP on 06 Jan 2015
- Average exchange rate in 2015: 0.7263 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.694 GBP on 18 Jul 2015.
- 2016
- Best exchange rate: 0.9034 GBP on 01 Nov 2016.
- Average exchange rate in 2016: 0.8193 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.7327 GBP on 05 Jan 2016.
- 2017
- Best exchange rate: 0.9263 GBP on 29 Aug 2017
- Average exchange rate in 2017: 0.8766 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8354 GBP on 18 Apr 2017.
- 2018
- Best exchange rate: 0.9087 GBP on 28 Aug 2018
- Average exchange rate in 2018: 0.885 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8636 GBP on 16 Apr 2018.
- 2019
- Best exchange rate: 0.937 GBP on 10 Aug 2019
- Average exchange rate in 2019: 0.8773 GBP.
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8302 GBP on 12 Dec 2019.
2020
- Average exchange rate in 2020: 0.8897 GBP.
- Best exchange rate: 0.9427 GBP on 18 Mar 2020
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8301 GBP on 14 Feb 2020.
2021
- Average exchange rate in 2021: 0.8599 GBP.
- Best exchange rate: 0.9057 GBP on 06 Jan 2021
- Worst exchange rate: 0.8389 GBP on 30 Dec 2021.
2022
- Average exchange rate in 2022: 0.8516 GBP.
- Best exchange rate: 0.898 GBP on 26th Sept 2022
- Worst exchange rate: 0.823 GBP on 06 Mar 2022.
Before 1979 – the Irish Pound or Punt had the same value as Sterling.
In 1979 Ireland joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and broke away from Sterling. Then in 1999 Ireland adopted Euro as our currency.
You can still exchange old Irish Pound banknotes and coins into Euros.
The exchange rate used is IR£1 = €1.269738. or €1 = 0.787564 IE Pounds
Old Irish Pound notes can be submitted for exchange .You must now book an appointment to exchange banknotes or coins in-person at the Central Bank’s public office.. More details here
Annual average exchange rates for the years 2018 to 2022 inclusive, as supplied by the Central Bank of Ireland:
The average currency conversion rates for EUROS , as supplied by the Central Bank of Ireland. These rates can be used when converting foreign income to Euros when completing tax returns for the Irish Revenue service.
| Currency | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Australian dollar AUD | 1.5797 | 1.6109 | 1.6549 | 1.5749 | 1.5167 |
| Brazilian real BRL | 4.3085 | 4.134 | 5.8943 | 6.3779 | 5.4399 |
| British pound GBP | 0.88471 | 0.87777 | 0.88970 | 0.85690 | 0.85276 |
| Indian Rupee INR | 80.7332 | 78.8361 | 84.6392 | 87.4392 | 82.6864 |
| US Dollar USD | 1.1810 | 1.1195 | 1.1422 | 1.1827 | 1.0530 |