What's up with Ireland?

Ultra_Kool_Dude

Ultra_Kool_Dude

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I grew up thinking that Ireland was backward, rural, poor, war torn, and drunken.

But the GDP/capita is way ahead of England, the economy is supposedly thriving, and the country is voted in a bunch of surveys as the best place to live.

So my question is: Was Ireland a bad place that has become good, was it always good, or has it always been bad?
 
When I was studying in the UK, they showed us some statistics that said that almost 15% of the UK citizens didnt't think that Ireland had phones...

So I'd say its always been a nice place, but perception has been somewhat twisted.

Of course the Irish government has made some significant steps in improving its competitivenes in the last few years. There are significant tax reductions to companies setting up offices there and labour is cheap and also foreign workforce is encouraged (hence a lot of the big names have set up their European head offices there. IBM, Microsoft, Google etc etc.)
 
Ireland was been one of the fastest developing countries in the EU. Structures were changed and capital inflow was very much anticipated. In 1993 the unemployment rate in Ireland was 16% in 2000 in was 4%.
Mind though that Ireland is one of the countries in the developed world that was a much higher GDP than GNP, hence there is a big capital outflow. Before 1993 Ireland was really undeveloped and most stereotypes are based on that state, today however Ireland is one of the best growing economies in Europe.
 
There was an Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman......

Seriously though I think Ireland hase probably benifited a hell of a lot from the EU. When your there everywhere you go you see things being built with "Funded by the EU" signs all over them. Some of the stereotypes are still kinda true. Some of the things you see are weird like I saw some women pull up to a junction and just get out and go into a shop. Also the signs are weird because the distances are in like Irish Miles, English Miles and Kilometres.
One of the best things though is they have some thing where the state buy your car off you if its shagged so you don't see many old bangers around
 
mmap said:
When I was studying in the UK, they showed us some statistics that said that almost 15% of the UK citizens didnt't think that Ireland had phones...

So I'd say its always been a nice place, but perception has been somewhat twisted.
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Who is this they? I know of nobody that thinks that, in 1931 perhaps.

They now have, for the first time a problem of both legal and illegal immigration, that is how successful they are.
 
Cobol74 said:
mmap said:
When I was studying in the UK, they showed us some statistics that said that almost 15% of the UK citizens didnt't think that Ireland had phones...

So I'd say its always been a nice place, but perception has been somewhat twisted.
Click to expand...

Who is this they? I know of nobody that thinks that, in 1931 perhaps.
Click to expand...

They were our marketing lecturer... Nobody took this statistic seriously anyway.

Like the saying goes, lies, damn lies and statistics
 
zenkidori said:
So why is the north still part of the UK?
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Don't even get into this mate.
 
zenkidori said:
Well it just makes sense to me that they would be part of Ireland, after all, it is Northern Ireland.
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Well they were until the Ireland Act of 1920.
 
haha604 said:
zenkidori said:
Well it just makes sense to me that they would be part of Ireland, after all, it is Northern Ireland.
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Different religions ...
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Not entirely, NI is 45.5% Protestant and 40.4% Catholic but that is the basis of the problem really.
 
Did this happen after or before the IRA called a truce? :think:
 
jayhawk said:
Did this happen after or before the IRA called a truce? :think:
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The IRA exist because of the split.
 
As far as I understand it the IRA are trying to get NI to be relieved from British rule.
There is some Irish guy on here from County Wexford I think.
 
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