Ireland Is Rich. But That Doesn’t Mean It’s Happy

Ireland’s current condition might best be described as an embarrassment of riches. A country that was long one of the poorest in Western Europe now has an abundance of public and private wealth and an economy that is open to the world. It has even proved relatively resistant to the temptation of the far right that has proved so appealing elsewhere; perhaps nostalgia for an imagined golden age doesn’t hold much appeal when memories of poverty, mass emigration and the repression imposed by conservative Catholicism are so fresh in the minds of a well-educated, socially liberal population. Read Full Article »