The recent dramatic decline in the economic fortunes of the Republic of Ireland have been all the more painful, because it followed the most rapid period of economic development ever witnessed in Irish economic history, when growth rates since the early-1990s surpassed those in the rest of Western Europe. With an unusual openness to international trade and capital flows and a relatively benign corporate tax regime and closer links to the American economy (in terms of investment and trade) than other parts of Western Europe, this growth was something of an aberration in a wider European context and requires explanation. This book provides a synthesis of recent research on Irish economic development, tracing the evolution of the economy since independence with particular reference to how the state sought to shape, regulate and deregulate economic activity to deal with the challenges posed by the wider international environment. In many ways, this book is a follow up to Bielenberg's Ireland and the Industrial Revolution, published by Routledge in 2009. Bielenberg and Ryan chart Ireland's economic progress, examining the unsuccessful attempts to promote economic growth from 1932 through import-substitution and protectionism, the policy frameworks developed in the 1950s and 1960s which sought to create a more open economy, Ireland's entry into the EEC in 1973 and the improvement of the country's economic performance, as well as Ireland's economic relationships with Europe, the USA and the UK.

This monograph provides the first comprehensive analysis of industrial development in Ireland and its impact on Irish society between 1801-1922. Studies of Irish industrial history to date have been regionally focused or industry specific.

The book addresses this problem by bringing together the economic and social dimensions of Irish industrial history during the Union between Ireland and Great Britain. In this period, British economic and political influences on Ireland were all pervasive, particularly in the industrial sphere as a consequence of the British industrial revolution.

By making the Irish industrial story more relevant to a wider national and international audience and by adopting a more multi-disciplinary approach which challenges many of the received wisdoms derived from narrow regional or single industry studies - this book will be of interest to economic historians across the globe as well as all those interested in Irish history more generally.

This book provides a cogent summary of the economic history of the Irish Free State/Republic of Ireland. It takes the Irish story from the 1920s right through to the present, providing an excellent case study of one of many European states which obtained independence during and after the First World War. The book covers the transition to protectionism and import substitution between the 1930s and the 1950s and the second major transition to trade liberalisation from the 1960s. In a wider European context, the Irish experience since EEC entry in 1973 was the most extreme European example of the achievement of industrialisation through foreign direct investment. The eager adoption of successive governments in recent decades of a neo-liberal economic model, more particularly de-regulation in banking and construction, has recently led the Republic of Ireland to the most extreme economic crash of any western society since the Great Depression.

This monograph provides the first comprehensive analysis of industrial development in Ireland and its impact on Irish society between 1801-1922. Studies of Irish industrial history to date have been regionally focused or industry specific.

The book addresses this problem by bringing together the economic and social dimensions of Irish industrial history during the Union between Ireland and Great Britain. In this period, British economic and political influences on Ireland were all pervasive, particularly in the industrial sphere as a consequence of the British industrial revolution.

By making the Irish industrial story more relevant to a wider national and international audience and by adopting a more multi-disciplinary approach which challenges many of the received wisdoms derived from narrow regional or single industry studies - this book will be of interest to economic historians across the globe as well as all those interested in Irish history more generally.

This book brings together a series of essays which unfold and illuminate the history of the Irish flour milling industry from the medieval period to the present day. Milling was one of Ireland's foremost industries, playing a critically important role in the local economy of many districts, servicing farmers needs and processing some of the key components in the Irish food supply. Despite being the most widely dispersed industry in the country, with bread and other milling components playing a central role in the Irish diet, the topic has not received the attention it deserves from social or economic historians, who've focused more on the potato. This book addresses that lacunae and incorporates a range of new research to form a compre-hensive overview. Attractively illustrated by a large collection of photographs and drawings, Irish Flour milling will be of particular interest to social, economic and local historians, industrial archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, and the many people with family connections to the industry: Bolands, Hallinans and Hughes; Pollexfens, Russells, Odlums and Shackletons. Contributors include: Dr Colin Rynne (NUI, Cork), on the industrial archaeology of Irish flour milling from the medieval period to 1880; Professor Louis Cullen (Trinity College, Dublin), on eighteenth-century flour milling; Dr Andy Bielenberg (NUI, Cork), on flour milling during the Union; Dr Richard Harrison (historian), on the Quakers and Irish flour milling 1790-1930; Glynn Jones (author of The Millers), on the introduction of rollers into flour milling 1880-1925; Dr Akihiro Takei (Osaka Gakuin University), on the political economy of Irish flour milling 1922-45; and Norman Campion (milling consultant), on Irish milling since the Second World War.

Originally published in 1993 Locke's Distillery is being reissued to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the company. Despite market dominance by Scotch in this century, Irish whiskey remains its peer. Locke's Distillery has been manufacturing its famous brand of whiskey on the banks of the Brusna river in Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath, since 1757, linking Ireland's industrial past to its future. From business archives and family papers, Andy Bielenberg has written a compelling history of the fluctuating fortunes of the distillery, tracing its origins and transformations in organization through the years to its present-day revival. He surveys the buildings and machinery, the process of distillation and marketing strategies, as well as documenting the Locke family's role within the company and their contribution to the social life of the midlands. Illustrated by period photographs, portraits and trade labels, and augmented by useful tables and appendix matter, Locke's Distillery will be of keen interest to regional and economic historians, and fascinate all who savour Irish whiskey and its traditions.