ABSTRACT
Ireland’s traditional socio-economic and class profiles have altered dramatically since partition. In both the Republic and Northern Ireland, sociocultural indicators such as the emergence of high-technology industries, growth in disposable income and the professionalisation of certain manual trades seem to suggest that both societies have merged fortuitously into the contemporary globalising economy (Foley and McAleese 1991). Furthermore, the two main cities, Dublin and Belfast, have been transformed into arenas of conspicuous consumption. The former is now one of the fasting growing tourism destinations in Europe, while the latter has the highest rates of profit for large-scale retailers in the UK. Moreover, since 1945, real increases in disposable income have been paralleled by meaningful social progression in the form of substantial improvements in education, health and housing provision.
