At the core of the modern-day group is the old Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, the ancient institution established by royal charter in 1783.

[5] On 25 June 1783, Bank of Ireland opened for business at St Mary's Abbey in a private house previously owned by one Charles Blakeney.

[31] In 2005, Bank of Ireland completed the sale of the Bristol and West branch and Direct Savings (Contact Centre) to Britannia Building Society.

Moody's pinpointed concerns over weakening asset quality and the impact of a more challenging economic environment on profitability at Bank of Ireland.

[35][36] In 2010, the European Commission ordered the disposal of Bank of Ireland Asset Management, New Ireland Assurance, ICS Building Society, its US Foreign Exchange business and the stakes held in the Irish Credit Bureau and in an American Asset Manager followed the receipt of Irish Government State aid.

[42] In September 2022, the Irish state sold its remaining shareholding in the bank to return it to fully private ownership for the first time in a decade.

However, the project was cancelled following the Act of Union in 1800, when the newly defunct Parliament House was bought by the Bank of Ireland in 1803.

[46] In the 1970s the bank moved its headquarters to a modern building, now known as Miesian Plaza, on Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.

As Frank McDonald notes in his book Destruction of Dublin, when these headquarters were built, it caused the world price of copper to rise – such was the usage in the building.

The group provides a broad range of financial services in Ireland to the personal, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.

These include checking and deposit services, overdrafts, term loans, mortgages, international asset financing, leasing, instalment credit, debt financing, foreign exchange facilities, interest and exchange rate hedging instruments, executor and trustee services.

Bank of Ireland also provides financial services for the British Post Office throughout the UK and AA Savings.

Below this is a depiction of a seated Hibernia figure, surrounded by the Latin motto of the Bank, Bona Fides Reipublicae Stabilitas ("Good Faith is the Cornerstone of the State").

[53] The current series of £5, £10 and £20 notes, issued in April 2008, all feature an illustration of the Old Bushmills Distillery on the reverse side.

Prior to 2008, all Bank of Ireland notes featured an image of the Queen's University of Belfast on the reverse side.

[57] Michael Soden abruptly quit as group chief executive on 29 May 2004 when it was discovered that adult material that contravened company policy was found on his Bank PC.

[58] Soden issued a personal statement explaining that the high standards of integrity and behaviour in an environment of accountability, transparency and openness, which he espoused, would cause embarrassment to the Bank.

Thurles, Boyle, Roscrea (1990), Milltown Malbay (1991), Dundalk (1989–90), Killester (1992), Tullamore (1993), Mullingar (1996), Castlecomer, Clonmel, Ballybricken, Ballinasloe, Skibbereen (1988), Dungarvan and, disclosed to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Sub-Committee, Ballaghaderreen (1998) and Ballygar (1999).

[65] On 27 February 2009, it was reported that a criminal gang from Dublin had stolen €7 million from the Bank of Ireland's main branch in College Green.

"[66] The information provided to the Department of Finance in 2009 in advance of a recapitalisation of the bank which cost the taxpayer €3.5 billion "was incomplete and misleading".

It also gave wrong information to the Minister for Finance who in turn misled the Dáil on €66 million in bonuses it paid since receiving a State guarantee.

[67] Their report also found that there had been "a catalogue of errors" and that the information supplied by Bank of Ireland to the Department of Finance was "presented in a manner which minimised the level of additional payments made".

During the intervening period, an extensive due diligence phase has been undertaken and relevant regulatory approval has been granted.

IBM will manage the group's entire IT infrastructure, including desktop systems, servers, mainframes, local area networks and service desk.

[72] Since then, BOI has given HCL a €30m Business Process Outsourcing contract and has selected them as strategic local resourcing partner in Ireland.