Gabrielle Hayes (1909-1978), a native of Dublin, studied art in Ireland, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Portugal, devoting special attention to pre-Christian and early Christian Celtic art. She exhibited for many years in the Royal Hibernian Academy. Her sculpture work includes reliefs on government offices in Dublin, and various religious sculptures around Ireland.  

She submitted three designs to the Department of Finance in 1968 as a proposal for the upcoming new decimal coins. These were adaptations of images taken from Celtic manuscripts, the most famous of these being the Book of Kells, which is currently on display in Trinity College, Dublin.

		Designs from the Book of Kells above and the designs used on the Irish decimal coinage that were based on such illuminations

Please see below for more information about the Book of Kells and the history of Irish Coinage:

The Book of Kells

History of Irish Coinage