Top of the morning

摘要

It is over now and a lot of Irish people, gazing out of the windows of their brand-new houses, still cannot believe it happened. A country that long prided itself on being uniquely oppressed is rich. For 15 years Ireland's economy grew by 7% or more a year and the results show everywhere: as ugly bungalows, seedy politics, polluted rivers, Polish plumbers and a huge increase in welfare for rich and poor alike. Roy Foster, grandmaster of Irish history (including a brilliant little book "Modern Ireland, 1600-1972"), brings the story almost up to date.rnAt the start of the 1970s, half a century after its part of the island achieved independence, Ireland joined the EuropeanrnEconomic Community (as the European Union was then called). Subsidies flowed in from Brussels. American investors loved an English-speaking location with pliable politicians and low corporate tax where the profits on their European operations could be transferred. As Mr Foster nicely puts it: "A certain amount of good luck was maximised by good management."