Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Tiger's Roar
European aid was to prove instrumental in kick-starting the Irish economy in the early
1990s. Huge sums of money were invested in education and physical infrastructure, while
the renewal of Lemass' industrial policy of incentivising foreign investment through tax
breaks and the provision of subsidies made Ireland very attractive to high-tech businesses
looking for a door into EU markets. In less than a decade Ireland went from being one of
the poorest countries in Europe to one of the wealthiest: unemployment fell from 18% to
3.5%, total exports quadrupled, the average industrial wage somersaulted to the top of the
European league and GNP rose between 5% to 15% every year from 1991 to 2006. In a
1994 report for finance house Morgan Stanley, analyst Kevin Gardiner coined the term
'Celtic Tiger' to describe this unparalleled level of growth and the name (eventually) stuck,
becoming a byword for economic prosperity.
Prosperity's twin was a more progressive attitude toward social policy. Challenges to the
more conservative aspects of Catholic teaching became more trenchant, and from the 1980s
onward, steady campaigning resulted in new laws protecting gay rights, access to contra-
ception and a successful referendum on divorce.
The dramatic decline in the influence of the Church in Irish affairs cannot be overstated.
Although prosperity and broader global trends are primary factors, the terrible revelations
of widespread child abuse and the untidy and often stubborn efforts of Church authorities
to sweep the truth under the carpet has provoked a seething rage amongst many Dubliners,
who are appalled by the Church's insensitivity to the care of the most vulnerable of their
flock. Many older believers feel an acute sense of betrayal, leading them to question a life-
time's devotion to their local parishes. The current Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid
Martin, has nevertheless been especially forthright in acknowledging the culpability of the
Church and has devoted much of his pastoral duty to rebuilding the reputation of his dio-
cese.
The visit of Pope John Paul II in 1979 - the first time for a pontiff - saw more than one million people flock
to the Phoenix Park to hear him say mass.
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