Breakthroughs

There have been extensive social, economic and cultural changes in Ireland since the beginning of cinema in 1896. Those 90 years can be divided into three broad periods: the last 25 years of the struggle towards an independent state; the first 35 years of inward-looking, cultural and economic policies by governments dominated by the two complementary sides of Sinn Fein and the IRA which divided over the Anglo-Irish Treaty; and the period since the late 1950s during which most protectionist measures have been abandoned and the Irish economy and Irish culture have become ‘international’. The advent of Sean Lemass as Taoiseach in 1959 gave political expression to the new policies, which helped lead to nearly 400 foreign companies being set up in Ireland in the 1960s alone. These developments were accelerated by Ireland's overwhelming support for EEC membership in a 1972 referendum. An indicator of these changes is the demographic evidence which had identified two crucial shifts in Irish society by the late 1970s. During the previous three decades there had been a major migration from rural to urban areas and there had been a significant alteration in the relationship to work. This had led to a dwindling away of the viability of self-employment and a corresponding shift towards large-scale employers and well-qualified employees. ¹