It was introduced in Ireland on Decimal Day, 15 February 1971 and reused the design on the shilling coin produced for the Irish Free State in 1928.

The five pence, introduced in 1971, was 5.65518 grams in weight with a diameter of 2.3595 centimetres.

The original five pence was last minted in 1990 and in 1992 a replacement was 3.25 grams in weight with a 1.85 centimetres diameter (differing from the corresponding new British five pence coin).

This new coin kept the old design but incorporated some changes, notably the location of the figure and reversing the main design of the bull.

The coin was worth 1⁄20 of an Irish pound and was finally withdrawn on the advent of the euro in 2002.