Debunking Bad History: Ireland in the 1960s | Ciarán Casey

Speaker: Ciarán Casey. Synopsis: This lecture reappraises the accepted wisdom about Ireland’s economic performance in the 1960s. It examines the impact of ‘Economic Development’ and considers it in the context of contemporary economic plans in Western Europe. The lecture also examines the transition of Ireland from protection to free trade and the associated debates within Government. While trade liberalisation was inevitable, policymakers had no real plan for how Irish firms would adapt. Contrary to what they assumed, many indigenous industries shrank rapidly over the following decades. The foreign direct investment boom that followed more than offset these job losses, but it was not planned by those who advocated liberalisation. Much of Ireland’s subsequent economic transformation can be attributed to good luck.