barryqwalsh
Gold Member
- Sep 30, 2014
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In the history of the State, we’ve been collectively lucky exactly twice. The first time was roughly between 1995 and 2001, when the stars in the firmament of history seemed to be aligning almost magically. It wasn’t pure luck, of course: long-term investment in education, the positive effects of women’s liberation, social partnership in its sensible phase, the peace process and improvements in infrastructure all contributed to the boom that transformed the Irish economy in those years. Where we got lucky was that all of these things just happened to coincide with the greatest-ever expansion of global trade, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the opening up of China and the turbocharged takeoff of information technology. All of our vicious circles suddenly became virtuous.
And we blew it. We didn’t know our own luck.
Fintan O’Toole: A toast to the luck of the Irish, second time around