Ireland

The Republic of Ireland is a small island nation on the Atlantic seaboard of Europe, with a population of 4.5 million. It has a history of emigration, agrarian economy, and a reputation as “the land of saints and scholars” given the diverse range of literature, culture, and music it has spawned over the centuries. Ireland retains its rural cultural context and has a highly educated but young population and a strong service and high-tech sector characterized by multinational inward investment. Despite dramatic changes in the country’s recent economic fortunes, from the “Celtic Tiger” boom of the 1990s to the austerity era of the post 2008 global downturn, tourism has remained an important part of the Irish society and economy. In 2013, it accounted for almost ...